FIFA Takes Over My Life

Stats:

watching: soccer
games watched: 15+
recipes tried: 4
mood: obsessive
listening to: Gungor radio
learning: prepare all your food before you cook it, html/css coding,
highlights: SOCCER, texting Maike, baking, hanging with Jake, reading Gyver's Shack 

Update:

I have been watching an embarrassing number of soccer games from the World Cup, but I love it! And I am becoming a regular soccer expert! Who am I routeing for? USA of course!! (We watched the nail-biting USAvPortugal game at Buffalo Wild Wings and it was so intense! I love being surrounded by USA fans though. USA fans are crazy... Crazy, but awesome. And I'm one of them!) I'm also routeing for France, not just because I'm learning the language, but the French team is actually really good and I think they might have a chance of getting pretty far this year, if not all the way. I was cheering for England because I watched a lot of the English leagues with Josh earlier this semester so I felt like I knew all the guys; but they were knocked out of Group stage pretty early on. Disappointing, England. I know you can do better! And if all my teams get knocked out, there's always Brazil, the host country! We'll see!

Soccer has literally taken over my life (or at least 4-6 hours of it every day). I find myself rearranging my schedule to catch games! Kind of funny, but I'm totally serious right now. But in other news, Cam has been gone at summer camp this week so the house has been awfully quiet. And Jake has been working full-time directing a theatre camp for kids so he's been pretty busty too. But we get our time in here and there. We caught up over coffee earlier this week and yesterday I brought him lunch and hung around the CYT office. I'm not terribly fond of the lack of communication, but I think the space is a good thing. Meanwhile, I've been hanging out at home, working, watching soccer, and teaching myself computer coding via Codecademy. (It's pretty awesome! Check it out if you're interested in learning that kind of thing.) That's pretty much my life right now. But it's about to get really exciting with the South Tucson missions trip coming up and then Royal Family Kid's Camp right after! More to come.

Cherry Galette

Perhaps I have not mentioned it, but lately, I've been bitten by the cooking bug! And this weekend, I embarked on my own culinary adventure to make this delicious dessert from an old Better Homes and Gardens magazine. I've also been checking out a bunch of the Bon Appétit magazines from the library and they inspire me so much!!

Joyeux fête des pères!!

Dad chose a Mexican restaurant called Guadalajara for his fancy Father's Day dinner, where the mariachis are delicious and the food is harmonious! Or rather, the reverse. ;)

Seriously though, these mariachis were excellent musicians. 

I was a little starstruck by their patio-decor. All of it was pleasantly romantic and I found myself enchanted by such minute details as these laser-cut plastic flags, decorative tiles, and the curved edges of adobe walls. Mmm mmm. I love the aesthetic.

Aww!! Maman et Papa! So adorable! Happy Father's Day!

Baklava: Part 2 (Tasting)

After a long day of training for Royal Family Kids Camp (a 5 day camp for foster kids coming up in July!) we celebrated with an evening filled with smoked brisket, buttery chins, good fellowship, and of course, baklava. As a result of our different methods of cooking and combinations of ingredients, both dishes were truly unique to one another.

Cameron's entry was rich and dense and soaked in perhaps too much honey-syrup. His pan achieved a beautiful caramel brown color and a flaky crusty-ness.

Our dish was lighter with stronger cinnamon flavors, reminiscent of Mom's apple crisp. Unfortunately, it was a little more blonde compared to Cameron's due to less oven time and all that extra butter (2 sticks more, or double what the recipe called for) prevented some of that flakiness from forming.

The verdict? The dishes were too different to declare a winner and a very solid tie was agreed upon by all parties involved!!

Happy Again

Stats:

pictures with Jake: 23+ (I think there's more, but I can't find them)
trips to Starbucks: 3
trips to RR: 3
happiness: extra high
sleep cycle: still normal
feeling: generous and happy
reading: Radical by David Platt 
learning: how to bake Baklava!, I need to rethink my definition of "greatness"
highlights: Jake coming home, hearing all about France, visiting Kristina while she was sick, free-writing, baklava

Weekly Update:

Well! It's Friday and yes it is very hot in Tucson (consistently over 100 degrees) the sun is shining and it's summer and Jake is home again, and once more life is starting to feel sunny and bright. Of course, it is wonderful to have him back again. We spent the first night just being together and trying to catch up,but knowing at the same time that it would take us a while to fully catch up. A lot of life happens in two weeks. Of course I feel like there are still many things which I still haven't told him and vice versa, but I trust they will come in due time.

This week, I've been working hard and playing harder and of course spending quite a lot of time with my love. I'm still making time for my other friends though. Yesterday, there was baklava and today, a few of my girl friends are coming over to play cards and hang out. Earlier this morning, I went grocery shopping to pick up some sandwich stuff and I couldn't help a little spring in my step as I waltzed into my favorite bakery--the Boulangerie for some rolls and then popped over to Sunflower for some fruit and cucumbers. I don't know what it was, but I felt like showering everyone I encountered with smiles today. Must be summer.

Baking Baklava

Baklava.... It began while eating pizza at a restaurant that used to be My Big Fat Greek Restaurant. "We went there for my birthday once." I said, "And we got baklava!"

"I saw a recipe for Baklava!" Stacey said, "I've been meaning to try it!"

And Cameron piped up, "Alton Brown [his cooking idol] has a recipe for Baklava!"

Thus our competition was born: The Great Baklava-ke-off (pronounced bah-klah-vah-klauff, a mish mash of Baklava and Bake-off) in which two teams go head to head to see whose baklava recipe is better!!! 

This week in Photos (6/2-6/7)

All iPhone photos this time. Perhaps I'll pick up the fancy camera this week... We'll see.

"The beginning of love is to let those we love be perfectly themselves, and not to twist them to fit your own image. Otherwise we love only the reflection of ourselves we find in them."

-Thomas Merton