sad news...

Nothing life-threatening, but yesterday my computer was stolen from school :(

So postings will be touch and go from here on out, unless it is returned. My kids are very devoted to me (not to brag), and most of them are pissed, but it's hard for me to believe that they would do this...

So for yesterday, I walked outside with the kids all day as we were practicing surveying to make maps, and I played the song that I wrote for my students on guitar. It's just ironic (and by ironic I mean quite the spiritual battle) that the same week I write a song for my students and the kids ask me to sponsor a Christian club at school my laptop gets stolen....grrrr Satan.....

hope your day is going well :)

ps

woops - i played a song by katie herzig, the indigo girls, and a song i wrote for one of my students...

i sort of went for a walk :/ Since the point was to enjoy God being outside and processing while walking, i did the same hanging out in the backyard with my new flowers :)

that year

a good day with the kids, but they have SOOOO much brokenness - it's so dang painful.

i just can't understand how God's heart doesn't just crack in half from all the pain.

this is a song brandi carlile wrote about her friend who committed suicide in high school, and i listened to it a lot when my student got into his accident.



so if you feel like praying, mention Desert View. it's hard for me to see where he is there...

curse my memory

if you didn't know, i think i may have one of the best long-term memories that God has ever created...well...maybe not that intense, but it's dang good...

yesterday was the 1-year anniversary of my grandfather's death, and though I'm exhausted and wiped out from school without much time/energy to focus on much else, I'm feeling rather sad as I remember lots of things...

For example, i came home from school once and my Grandpa was in the basement listening to his records. He has an older version of a song that i love playing while he just gave me the biggest hug and held me for a long time. I mean this is a man who was in the 3rd wave of Omaha beach and SURVIVED, ran for mayor of South Bend, was offered to be the 1st director of the basketball arena at Notre Dame, who won purple hearts and bronze stars - among a thousand other things - and he's crying because his granddaughter is home from college...a very, very good memory.

So I went for my walk today about 15 minutes ago, which I know, isn't the safest in tucson, but it was really nice. i first fell in love with God by driving out into the country on cold nights, laying on my car, and talking to him about the broken things happening in my relationships with family and friends. So walking these past two nights in the cold air with the newly visible Mars has brought back tons of good memories of meeting Jesus in indiana, and new experiences of meeting Jesus in tucson.

here's the song by the former lead singer of Nickel Creek (who does the version of the song i love)...oh, and it's how i got the name for our cat

did your weekend go too fast too?

cuz mine did...

laelia and i rendezvoused today and prayed and played...what a great afternoon!

then i took a walk around the block after church in the brisk, winter tucson air...reminds me of fall in the midwest - bah! i miss it!

and now, to head into the world of maps to get ready for school this week!

where am i?

i was sure i lived in tucson, but this morning it felt like i moved to colorado...








it was so very nice...it actually felt like winter. however, it did amplify the lonliness factor, but it did give me something to talk about with God while i prayed.

im about to play my flute as my voice is not up to full capacity today

miraculous

For my walk yesterday and today, I headed to Brandi Fenton Park, which is pretty close to the house so it's lovely going there. And both yesterday and today, the Rillito was actually a flowing RIVER!!! it was very hard to believe, and i so greatly loved sitting by it and just hearing it run...



then later moriah and played - i attempted to solo on my guitar while she played a sublime song on her ukelele. very, very fun :)

pictures from december

in the woods in indiana

bunny tracks

finally said goodbye

spoils of war (christmas presents from my students)

unusual tree bark moriah and i found on mt. lemmon

i didn't forget to post

or do my walk/music, but am gonna post tomorrow with pics :) tooooo tiredddddd.....

post script

harlow gardens is have a HUGE sale over through the weekend - get over to Pima and Craycroft quick! that is if we're not snowed in with our blizzard warning - hahahahaha...:)

Puck Fair, Killoglin, Co. Kerry, Ireland

The picture for today was of Ireland's oldest fair - the Puck Fair...and the one in my calendar had banners with "Guinness" across them...mmmmmm...during this fair is apparently The Guinness Music Trail Competition. I have no idea but combining three of my favorite things - Guinness, music, and trails (hiking?) - seems like it can't be bad.

Today I went for a walk along the Rillito to check out Green Things nursery. Very cool place, but I didn't especially enjoy walking today. The clouds were nice, but the wind was not, and I just wanted to be home.

I started losing my voice today, so I'm gonna play something on my mandolin now as a little break from grading tests. The ADD fights back HARD when I have to sit and grade for hours....:(

"dinosaurs make sucky pets,

that's why they're extinct" is the name of the following comic


hahahahahaha...i love nataliedee




there was actually much more snow on the mountains this morning, but it's hard to tell, but I thought I'd post a photo nonetheless.


Practiced Katie Herzig and almost figured out all the chords for "Changed Come" by Over the Rhine.

Walked with Em from No Anchovies, down to 4th Ave to talk to this guy about music, then back to the Dubliner to have a Guinness...mmmmmmmm
...Guinness IS good for you :)

lovely cloudy day huh?

Went for a walk after the sun set around 6. With the clouds and darkness, it was very peaceful and lovely.

Also practiced some of the songs that Laelia and I played :) I figured out the chords to "I Hurt Too" by Katie Herzig...it's so fun to play!

then went to Bookman's and bought a book on Ireland - keepin the dream alive!

thanks Laelia

for such a fun day!

We went for a walk with Sugar (her dog) to 4th ave on this lovely cloudy day, and headed to get some Brooklyn pizza. It was such a fun lunch as everyone was so nice! 1st off - 8 dollars for lunch for two - heck freaking yes. Then there was this little girl outside who LOVED Sugar, and then a guy and his 1 year daughter sat outside, feeding the pigeons and just chatting. He was so cute with her :)

Then we walked home and played music for 4ish hours! That's right! It was so very, very fun and we ended up playing this song outside while the sun was beautifully setting.

Thanks again Laelia!

day something...

Today I walked from Harlow Gardens to the Seneca House and back. Not very far, but a lovely walk on a beautiful cloudy day nonetheless. :)

I just finished playing Last Clock on the Wall in G instead of F#m - much better for the hands but a little low for the voice...hmmm...may have to try yet another key....

i don't think it worked

the links don't connect like i thought they would. Sorry!

But feel free to look up the mix for some good tunes :)

something new

iTunes iMixes. Never really looked into them, but found this good one :)

weird day...

Ron and Tamaki got married today - yeah!!! that's the awesome part :)

Had tons of fun, great hanging with Tamaki's friend who's staying with me, and awesome food.

Then I go home and change out of the wedding attire, and hear screaming coming from a neighbor's house. Very loud and very strange. I always thought, "If something ever happened to me or someone around me, would anyone really do anything???" ...so I walked outside and followed the screaming...

I go over to a neighbor's I've never met before, and the guy runs out yelling and holding his arm, and his wife is freaking out, "he's burned - I have to take him to the hospital!" I said I'd take care of it and that they should go. I mean what else would you say???

They leave, and I go into their house, which is FILLED with smoke, but no visible flames, and begin to try to fan the smoke detector. still not turning off. So instead I detach the thing from the wall and pull out one of the wires on the back. it stops, thankfully.

Then to just survey the damage and try to clear the room, I walked around and opened some windows. Apparently they moved in YESTERDAY :( and were trying to make homemade popcorn in their new cute townhouse. So SAD!!! They seemed like relatively new-newlyweds...pictures up of their wedding but no kids and very young. his burned shirt is lying in a pile of grease on the kitchen floor. the wall is burnt and there is a huge ring of carpet missing, which is later found seared onto the edge of a pan that contained the oil they were heating for the popcorn.

to those who make your own popcorn - PLEASE be careful!

I left a note saying I locked the place and to come over for the keys, which I took from the table.

About 10 minutes later, the woman's mom comes over FREAKING (as any mom would do), asking for the keys. I walked over with them, let them in, and tried to tell them what I knew but be reassuring. Then Mom realizes there's only 1 dog in the backyard...apparently there are supposed to be two. Crap. Oh, and the dog that's missing is a voice-less shelty. That's right, it can't bark and gets freaked out super easy. Poor traumatized dog :(

So my long story for my walk today is that I walked around my little complex yelling, "MASON!!!" attempting to find my new neighbor's dog that can't bark. Not a long walk, but with hosting someone this weekend, and the craziness, I figure that's ok.

After the chaos settled down, I played my mandolin outside and a few of my neighbors came a listened. it's so different playing in front of people without the full band of the Village. I get nervous, then can't think of anything to play, and my voice goes rough because I get nervous...and then my fears about sucking are self-fulfilled because I suck more when I get nervous...bummer right? I hear God saying (I think) the only solution is to play more in public without the whole band behind me....hmmmm....not sure how I feel about that - oh wait, yes I do - SCARY!!!

Not that Ron and Tamaki getting married should be overshadowed! God has done some awesome things today and, like life as usual, some scary things have happened too.

glad it's over and ended with Lethal Weapon 2

home

i've been thinking a lot about "home" and what that means - which this picture reminds me of. the song "Southbound Train" by Jon Foreman has inspired many of these reflections, but it's also been the result of feeling an aching that seems so utterly unquenchable. a C.S. Lewis quote always comes back to mind...something about how we're not home yet, so we are always going to long for it, but that it's silly to believe we're ever to be fulfilled here on earth (obviously I don't remember the exact quote, but close maybe?). i've been asking God to feel at home in Him - not Tucson, not friends, or school, or a future man, but just as much as possible in Him...

...and try as I prayed, today was not one of those days where my brain could focus. this was more like the thought pattern as i walked around my neighborhood this afternoon...

"my legs hurt"
"God-i love living in Tucson"
"i need to put Moriah's sheets in the dryer"
"my sweater smells weird"
"should I go to Luce tonight?"
"or should I go to the Sage?"
"what time do I need to leave to be at the airport on time?"
"which dress should I wear to the wedding?"
"my sweater smells really weird"
"my shoulders are tense"
"i like the sound my new earrings make"

and so it continued....i assume we all have times like today's walk, but on these days it's hard for me to cut myself some slack...but well, its life right?

ok - so I'm off to go play Landslide again on guitar. woot :)

my computer died yesterday

so i didn't get a chance to post my blog...so here it!

Walk: I stopped at the Botanical Gardens on my way home. They had a big rose blooming, and I walked down all the little paths that I usually don't take. This then inspired me to go work in my own backyard for a few hours - watering and painting some cinder blocks fun colors to make into pots :)

Play: I practiced Landslide some more and am doing a little better with finger-picking...generally a very weak part of my playing.

today's post to come in a little while. one of my students had surgery yesterday and has requested me to visit them, and then i'm picking someone up at the airport later tonight...so we'll see how this all plays out

rest

So at the Village we've been having God tell us that we need to better at some things via Eric. They are as follows:
1-rest
2-finances
3-relationships in marriage and singleness

Normally I really stress about trying to keep up with commitments because I'm not a very disciplined person. However, so far, I have greatly enjoyed the walks I've gone. Julie, you were right, I do love being outside and I so often forget how much. Since 2010, my walks have become one of the best parts of my day. Sometimes I listen to music, other times not, but it's a great time to destress, see God's beauty, and just really rest in his goodness and the fact that He loves me and will take care of me and everyone else...thanks Jesus :)

and on that note, I just went around the block today past the house with the fun yard and scary dogs.

I played Landslide by Stevie Nicks on my guitar and Cowboy Take Me Away by the Dixie Chicks...apparently it's a folk-country music day

evening of loafing

So I'm dragging my feet to go play at this moment...but probably a Waterdeep song.

I did, however, go for a lovely walk at the Brandi Fenton park after school today. There were cute little kids playing soccer, and I stopped and prayed on a rusty metal gate while staring at the mountains :) very, very beautiful...

this is the view from the AZ webcam at almost exactly the time I was out there

day 11 - woo!

Today Moriah came with me. :) We went for a little nighttime stroll around the neighborhood past the Catholic church. It was fun to get to hang, de-stress, and laugh with a friend.

I just tried to play Psalm 13 by Shane & Shane on the guitar. I haven't listened to the song in a long time, but I remember the guitar part being cool...and thankfully not too difficult. :)

ireland comes up again

I went for a long walk by the Rillito today. It was great after watching "Leap Year", a film set in Ireland, to go for a long walk with it being cloudy outside. It was also lovely to have the horses nearby. I often miss the agricultural community that I grew up in living here in Tucson.

Hanging at my grandparents house is a small plaque of "An Old Irish Blessing." A common thing around South Bend with Notre Dame and the old Irish immigrant community. We also sang the blessing in 8th grade and it has always stuck with me, and I sing it every now and then. Well I tried to find the chords tonight and turns out there are DOZENS of arrangements. So I tried to figure out some of the chords, but in the meantime, here's another version of it.

kate rusby

Moriah and I have working on writing a song for a few hours now. Based loosely on a song by Kate Rusby - I love her! Her music is very beautiful and inspiring to me, plus her hair is cool.

Here is a New Year's wish song for 2010.

[kate rusby]

PS -We already walked around campus a little and I was going to try to go for a longer walk a little later.

catch up

So while this whole week I felt like I was dragging around some dead carcass behind me, slowing me down and making me feel really angry about not being able to catch up, with God's extreme assistance, I managed to walk everyday!!! (insert cheers and woohoos here)

Yesterday:
I was trying to call some parents and waiting for a call from another teacher, so I walked around outside the back of the school. I found the prettiest little enclosed garden behind the school. It had a small pond, a waterfall, with flowers and bushes, and even fish! Such a fun surprise :)

Then I practiced scales on my mandolin.

Today:
I walked around the neighborhood by The Village listening to Jon Foreman while eating an Eeegee's. It felt like winter, and I got a hello from a cute little boy.

I'm headed to my room to play guitar now :)

halfway through the week

and the end can't come soon enough.

but i did have some great conversations with some students today, which helped in reminding me why i'm there. my purpose and objective is to love and teach the kids.

however, I had a dinner date with tracy and laelia which took us to brooklyn and a walk along 4th ave. then we had pizza and gelato (mine was pistachio) while watching a movie and it was fabulous. maybe canceled out the walk, but what fun :)

with all the stress of the week, and also some sad things some students told me, i worked on angel by sarah mclachlan. a very sad song but one that i love to play and sing.

i want to stay in one of those quaint cottages next to the sea...

January 5th - the anniversary of Tim and Christine's wedding and a VERY stressful day at work. The 2nd day back was almost just as hard as the 1st...

I took my walk around the neighborhood again because I had to make 3 stops on the way home, and it was already 5:30 and I was SO tired. I wore a dress to school today, so I just threw on my Chacos and went. I was walking with my headphones in and near the end of my walk, I realized that a car was pulling up next to me. A guy was concerned and offering me a ride. Never have I had that happen...but it was hard to tell if he was concerned or being kinda creepy. Seemed like a blend of both, but I guess nice nonetheless.

I practiced on my Navajo flute for around a half hour today. It was fun playing it - I hadn't seriously in a while.

oh my gosh...so tired

So the first day back to school was more exhausting than I thought, and I have a fear tomorrow is going to worse :( However, I'm trying to praise God for being much stronger than I and ask that he dispose of that strength on my fatigued self.

In light of this, I just walked around the block when I got home at 5:30. The sky illuminated many lovely, pink cirrus clouds as the sun set.

I ran through "Last Clock on the Wall" by Joe Purdy on my electric guitar (because my fingers are KILLING me with playing so much - the electric was the only thing I could handle. A good sign!)

day 3

Walk: Had the most AWESOME latte at Luce then walked around campus. One of the trees' leaves had turned yellow. It looked so beautiful in the midday sun.

Play: Worked on "The Cure for Pain" by Jon Foreman again.

day 2

Walk: Moriah and I walked around Himmel Park as the sun was setting - lovely. There were three boys in a wooden wagon riding down Hippie Hill :)

Play: Moriah bought a ukelele today! It's from Portugal, is handmade, and sounds absolutely fabulous. We played "You and I" by Ingrid Michaelson together, which is played on the ukulele. I sang and added in notes from my mandolin and guitar :)

day 1

Walk: Mt. Lemmon
I took Bella on a short hike with me this morning. She was so great. Sometimes she gets clingy and protective and walks very close ahead of me, which makes it hard to go anywhere. But today she kept walking ahead (but not too far, and stopped whenever I called her), and walked in an excited, encouraging, cheerleader sort of way. Rather a nice bonus given that I haven't gone hiking in quite some time and was sucking air. I would take her on that trail last year, so it was fun to go with her again, though terribly windy today.

Music: Jon Foreman on guitar



gotta love the cello :) i was having a rough day thinking about stuff and God used this to speak to me while i was hiking, especially the first verse

Ireland pic of the day:

resolutions of a new year...

Generally, I find New Year's resolutions rather stupid. I mean, if you haven't managed to motivate yourself to do something within the past year, what are the odds you're going to do it just because the calendar year changed? However this year, I thought well, what the heck - I'll just start something - at least I'm excited about it!

I thought I'd combine my ideas into one compact, perhaps achievable, plan. So here it goes:
I love to walk...or I should say taking walks. I love the time to think, take in the beauty around me and just chill. However, I rarely go on walks here. I love the desert, but there's something much more enjoyable about walking among trees. So...

New Year's Resolution #1: Walk everyday when I get home from school and write one sentence on here about it. Just a simple sentence to claim that I did it.


I also want to be playing more. Not that I don't ever play, but I always wondered how much difference it would make if I played everyday. So after I get home...

New Year's Resolution #2: Pick up one of my instruments and play something...anything...and if I just run through one song it will take 3 minutes at most.

And then if that wasn't enough (and it won't be), I have the external motivation of a daily calendar. One of my long time dreams is to go stay in Ireland for as long as I could afford. With teaching, I would love that to be an entire summer to just sit in pubs, backpack around the country, and play my mandolin. So to motivate myself to save and sacrifice for it, I bough a daily calendar with photos of Ireland, so when I walk and play, I can reward myself with flipping the calendar and seeing my new beautiful picture of the day. Maybe it will work :) if not, well, it's ok....

So here's the calendar!