Friday, September 23, 2011

welcome autumn

my dear old friend...i have missed you...

i have longed for your cooler breezes and crisper air to wrap me up, like finding an old beloved sweatshirt that you haven't seen in years.  To take walks, and not just before the Sun comes up or sets because it's too dang hot out...but to just SOAK in the glory of God making our Earth just slightly tilted, and how that gives us an ever-changing beauty that is autumn...to eat apples, to hike, and to relish in the loveliness of life (and all things orange).

Tucson, will you let fall come?  Will you please not be 100 degrees anymore...my soul and my electric bill cannot take it much longer (yes I had to turn the air back on)

but everyone, if you looking for fall/autumn-ness, Savaya served up an awesome pumpkin latte the other day.  And I made pumpkin whoopie pies with cinnamon frosting for our church's open house. If you're in town, stop on by!  1926 N. Cloverland.

hope your loving even the title change of seasons as much as I am, even if the weather hasn't exactly followed suit this week...

Thursday, September 22, 2011

Good-bye Summer!

I am glad that you're over.


Wednesday, September 21, 2011

I had it for 12 hours...

My old friends Ariel and Ryan sent me this beautiful book for a housewarming present.
How sweet are they???
 
Back in my hometown whoopie pies are a staple, and my mom would send them to me, so the three of us (and often more) would sit there eating whoopie pies for days...if they made it that long. Sadly, the place that made the best in town burned down (so tragic!), and no more whoopie pies! So receiving this book had way more anticipation built into it.
I'm not sure if I've mentioned this before, but I do love to bake. This book called for the use of a stand-up mixer, and the idea has been taunting me for a while, because it would be so nice to multitask and cook (often my greatest issue with cooking is it takes too long being a single/homeowner/teacher)...so I got some extra money from working over the summer and I did it!  

Lovely!!! Wanna see it again?
 

And here's how awesome it looked on my counter:
 


First, I needed to make the whoopie pies themselves - the cake part. I opted to make pumpkin to get into the spirit of autumn...  

I ADORE the color of pumpkin...
 

Ingredients:
 

And whoooopiiiiiiieeeeeeeeeeee!!!
 
 
I even found a pumpkin silicone "tin" :) oh joy that is mine
 

Now I need to learn how to make them more even and thinner...

Sadly (but actually quite divine), the KitchenAid starting making a loud high pitched sound, and after some time was followed by a loud grinding, metal-on-metal sound - not good. So I took it back to Bed, Bath, and Beyond for a full refund! I was feeling rather impulsive in buying it, so I'm glad I got to use it...and glad I got to take it back :)

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Fleet Foxes & Bon Iver

Drove up to see these 2 bands play after school, after our CRAZY storm on the south side where it took me 1/2 hour to go 3 miles!  Oh and by drove "up", I mean to Phoenix.

And yes...I drove back that night and went to school.  Main realization of that day:  My 25 year old body cannot handle that.  I am still recovering...

Here's some pics/vids of the evening:


I love Fleet Foxes' drummer, Josh Tillman. I saw him play here in Tucson at Solar Culture years ago...soooooo good.

And the main event:

Twin violins!


I'll try to post a few other videos later...

Sunday, September 18, 2011

Tucson's cooling down, if ever so slightly

We've had some dang crazy storms over here on the south side.  One of which pushed my beautiful tree over, and 3 of which have brought hail...





But the cooler weather brought the temps down at church, much to everyone's relief. Here's some shots of my lovely community from last Sunday...

 
the Park's

 
the view from where I sit







Tuesday, September 13, 2011

oh the beauty of a day overcast

the storms, the rain (and hail here on the south side), and the clouds have taken Tucson's overbearing triple-digit temperatures down into the 80's and 90's during the day.

how wonderful it has been...

and with that I REJOICE!  And have turned off the air conditioning!  It has been absolutely lovely to sit in a quiet house (even though most of the time I'm home I'm sleeping because I'm never here)...to feel the breeze coming through the windows, and to know that the electric bill will be significantly lower  :)

I'm typing this by candlelight, and while I don't want to return to the pre-electricity days, the lack of the running air conditioner and an open window bring a part of my soul and self to life that I always miss until fall returns.  I have always loved this time of year...and the candlelight makes me long for simplicity.  I know my life will never be simple, though I'm convicted to remember it's a choice...and to choose better tomorrow.

Saturday, September 3, 2011

today feels like a saturday...

I'm sitting here grading...and grading...and grading...and grading...

but what makes it soooooo much better (because I don't enjoy grading) - 
I'm watching Notre Dame football. 

Back home Notre Dame football is a lifestyle. It's not just spending 3-4 hours watching a football game.  It's spending the night before painting my nails blue and gold (as a kid of course).  It's leaving the house at 9 am to say hey at Grandma and Grandpa Tezich's before heading to campus to find a parking spot (and since my dad went there he knows where to park).  It's tailgating from 11 til gametime at Cira's and with Dad's old elementary school friend Bob Gnoth - eating, playing catch, and walking around campus.  Then all through the next week, everyone is talking about what happened in the game - and not just your family - but at the gas station, the corner cafe, at school...everywhere.  If you walk around my small town on a fall Saturday, you can hear people yelling at their tv's during plays.  I definitely miss being home this time of year...

BUT!!! NBC now streams ND football live and free online. Thank you NBC!!!  I'm getting to feel connected to my family (my sister, her bf, my dad, and my uncle are all at the game.  I've gotten to talk to my grandma and mom on the phone about what's happening (first ever weather delay of game)

...and it's made grading so much better.

P1010045
my Saturday, September 3rd :)

Friday, September 23, 2011

welcome autumn

my dear old friend...i have missed you...

i have longed for your cooler breezes and crisper air to wrap me up, like finding an old beloved sweatshirt that you haven't seen in years.  To take walks, and not just before the Sun comes up or sets because it's too dang hot out...but to just SOAK in the glory of God making our Earth just slightly tilted, and how that gives us an ever-changing beauty that is autumn...to eat apples, to hike, and to relish in the loveliness of life (and all things orange).

Tucson, will you let fall come?  Will you please not be 100 degrees anymore...my soul and my electric bill cannot take it much longer (yes I had to turn the air back on)

but everyone, if you looking for fall/autumn-ness, Savaya served up an awesome pumpkin latte the other day.  And I made pumpkin whoopie pies with cinnamon frosting for our church's open house. If you're in town, stop on by!  1926 N. Cloverland.

hope your loving even the title change of seasons as much as I am, even if the weather hasn't exactly followed suit this week...

Thursday, September 22, 2011

Good-bye Summer!

I am glad that you're over.


Wednesday, September 21, 2011

I had it for 12 hours...

My old friends Ariel and Ryan sent me this beautiful book for a housewarming present.
How sweet are they???
 
Back in my hometown whoopie pies are a staple, and my mom would send them to me, so the three of us (and often more) would sit there eating whoopie pies for days...if they made it that long. Sadly, the place that made the best in town burned down (so tragic!), and no more whoopie pies! So receiving this book had way more anticipation built into it.
I'm not sure if I've mentioned this before, but I do love to bake. This book called for the use of a stand-up mixer, and the idea has been taunting me for a while, because it would be so nice to multitask and cook (often my greatest issue with cooking is it takes too long being a single/homeowner/teacher)...so I got some extra money from working over the summer and I did it!  

Lovely!!! Wanna see it again?
 

And here's how awesome it looked on my counter:
 


First, I needed to make the whoopie pies themselves - the cake part. I opted to make pumpkin to get into the spirit of autumn...  

I ADORE the color of pumpkin...
 

Ingredients:
 

And whoooopiiiiiiieeeeeeeeeeee!!!
 
 
I even found a pumpkin silicone "tin" :) oh joy that is mine
 

Now I need to learn how to make them more even and thinner...

Sadly (but actually quite divine), the KitchenAid starting making a loud high pitched sound, and after some time was followed by a loud grinding, metal-on-metal sound - not good. So I took it back to Bed, Bath, and Beyond for a full refund! I was feeling rather impulsive in buying it, so I'm glad I got to use it...and glad I got to take it back :)

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Fleet Foxes & Bon Iver

Drove up to see these 2 bands play after school, after our CRAZY storm on the south side where it took me 1/2 hour to go 3 miles!  Oh and by drove "up", I mean to Phoenix.

And yes...I drove back that night and went to school.  Main realization of that day:  My 25 year old body cannot handle that.  I am still recovering...

Here's some pics/vids of the evening:


I love Fleet Foxes' drummer, Josh Tillman. I saw him play here in Tucson at Solar Culture years ago...soooooo good.

And the main event:

Twin violins!


I'll try to post a few other videos later...

Sunday, September 18, 2011

Tucson's cooling down, if ever so slightly

We've had some dang crazy storms over here on the south side.  One of which pushed my beautiful tree over, and 3 of which have brought hail...





But the cooler weather brought the temps down at church, much to everyone's relief. Here's some shots of my lovely community from last Sunday...

 
the Park's

 
the view from where I sit







Tuesday, September 13, 2011

oh the beauty of a day overcast

the storms, the rain (and hail here on the south side), and the clouds have taken Tucson's overbearing triple-digit temperatures down into the 80's and 90's during the day.

how wonderful it has been...

and with that I REJOICE!  And have turned off the air conditioning!  It has been absolutely lovely to sit in a quiet house (even though most of the time I'm home I'm sleeping because I'm never here)...to feel the breeze coming through the windows, and to know that the electric bill will be significantly lower  :)

I'm typing this by candlelight, and while I don't want to return to the pre-electricity days, the lack of the running air conditioner and an open window bring a part of my soul and self to life that I always miss until fall returns.  I have always loved this time of year...and the candlelight makes me long for simplicity.  I know my life will never be simple, though I'm convicted to remember it's a choice...and to choose better tomorrow.

Saturday, September 3, 2011

today feels like a saturday...

I'm sitting here grading...and grading...and grading...and grading...

but what makes it soooooo much better (because I don't enjoy grading) - 
I'm watching Notre Dame football. 

Back home Notre Dame football is a lifestyle. It's not just spending 3-4 hours watching a football game.  It's spending the night before painting my nails blue and gold (as a kid of course).  It's leaving the house at 9 am to say hey at Grandma and Grandpa Tezich's before heading to campus to find a parking spot (and since my dad went there he knows where to park).  It's tailgating from 11 til gametime at Cira's and with Dad's old elementary school friend Bob Gnoth - eating, playing catch, and walking around campus.  Then all through the next week, everyone is talking about what happened in the game - and not just your family - but at the gas station, the corner cafe, at school...everywhere.  If you walk around my small town on a fall Saturday, you can hear people yelling at their tv's during plays.  I definitely miss being home this time of year...

BUT!!! NBC now streams ND football live and free online. Thank you NBC!!!  I'm getting to feel connected to my family (my sister, her bf, my dad, and my uncle are all at the game.  I've gotten to talk to my grandma and mom on the phone about what's happening (first ever weather delay of game)

...and it's made grading so much better.

P1010045
my Saturday, September 3rd :)