Brian and Teagan Rozmus

Jay's Wedding

2009-06-15T19:49:00.000-07:00

This past weekend, Brian and I went to Philadelphia for his sister's wedding. Jay (Jennette) and Jonathan got married at Jay's aunts house, so the wedding weekend was a family affair. The time was spent running errands, having showers, running more errands, doing the rehearsal dinner, having the wedding, and then cleaning up. We did manage to have a good deal of fun and at least one cheesesteak in the midst of all that.

This time we stayed with Brian's uncle Joe and aunt Ann, who were fantastic hosts. Even left coffee ready to brew for me (oh sweet nectar)! We enjoyed getting to know Nathan's girlfriend, Heidi and meeting Jonathan's family.

Everything turned out beatifully for the ceremony and the party that followed - big fun. Glad to be home. Here are some pics.

Brian and his siblings: Jay, Nathan, and Claire

The happy couple.

One big happy family :)

Oh and did I mention that we got a new camera? Well, new to us...yay!

Birthday - part 2

2009-05-29T11:52:00.000-07:00

Here I am, one week after my birthday, doing part 2. Here are my excuses: #1 I am sick and have been crazy tired all week. #2 My camera died, so I haven't photographed anything else anyway.

We spent last Saturday at the lake. After we inflated the Carribean Island (see below), I did not leave it until it was time to go inside for dinner.

Brian bringing the Carribean Island and the air compressor down to the dock. Any excuse to use the tractor...

Mike, Julie, Jen, Karis, Christi, and me on the Carribean Island.

Me and Karis

We ate some delicious cedar plank salmon, veggies, and potato salad for dinner and then had brownies, strawberry shortcake, and key lime pie for dessert.

Me and Christi - lovely

blowing out the candle

My nephew, Carter, and his nanny.

Edna (aka Julie) and Tezra.

Maeson and Madison

I tied ribbons from a gift in their hair - they loved it :)

Birthday

2009-05-25T09:37:00.000-07:00

My birthday this year was fantastic. It was a whole weekend of celebration. So much, that I still need a nap from it all. The first thing we did was have lunch with my mom at my favorite Mexican place: Monterrey in Oak Ridge. They brought me a sombrero to wear and sang Happy Birthday to me - in English! I was outraged and proceed to yell "in Spanish!" at them - here is photo evidence of that:

My sweet mom got me some flip flops, a rug for my kitchen, and a sweet basil plant (which I'm stoked about). Here we are with the basil:

That night, I had dinner with my favorite people in the world (minus a few who weren't able to come) at Lakeside Tavern. With the exception of my best friend, Christi, all of these people are in our small group. If you don't already have some sort of community - get you one! We truly do life together. We learn and grow and celebrate and serve together -it is super cool.

Christi and me.

Tiffany, Andrew, Mark, Tracy, and Jade

Evan, Marta, Sharon, and Tara.

Christi, Me, Jen, and Tara.

Don't know how Brian didn't make it into any of the dinner pictures, but he was there. Afterwards, we went to Menchie's - a self-serve frozen yogurt place...mmm mmm.

Here is a pic of most of us:

The weekend continued with more celebration, but I'll save that for another post.

End of the Year Program

2009-05-22T06:49:00.000-07:00

You may know that I keep my niece, Maeson, after preschool on weekdays. Maeson turned four in December and she is a delightful little girl. She loves all things pink and princess - so we have fun together. Maeson is also an incredible little helper in the kitchen.

Anyway, she had her end of the year program for Pre-K 3 last night. When she got on stage, Maeson realized that she was on the big screen behind her - it cracked her up! She spent about half the time turned around looking at herself. I didn't get a picture of that, but here are some pictures I did get.

Maeson actually doing the motions to the song.

Me and Mae.
(I look like I've had a long day - not feeling well)

Maeson and her new fish.

Recommitment

2009-05-20T16:40:00.000-07:00

Everybody seems to be doing so well at keeping their blog up to date these days! At least the people I read the most are. So, here I am, jumping back on the blog-wagon. I am trying to think of terms of this recommitment, but I can't seem to nail it down. Once a day? Three times a week? Once a week?

I will say this - I will make a concerted effort to speak my voice on this blog. Somehow, I read other peoples blogs and think, "well, I guess I should write like that or about that" So, I'm gonna write about whatever I want!!! Oot oot.

Here are some things that I have pictures of since the last post:

Easter @ the Lakehouse

Dad and Suzie

Dad and Julie

Us.

Mother's Day @ our house

My littlest niece, Amari.

My mom in her Mother's Day Thong!!!! hahahahahaha!!!

Kate

2009-04-01T18:19:00.000-07:00

sorry for the quality of this pic - it was taken with my phone

This is Kate. She is the daughter of my friends, Marta and Evan. (You should check out their blog - Marta posts much more often than I do) I got to hang out with her tonight and she is such a joy. Really, she babysits herself. If you don't know what's next in the routine, Kate will tell you. For example, when putting her to bed she will say "green" and point to her monitor to remind you to turn it on.

Our friend, Tracy, used to be the primary Kate-sitter. She is currently in DC doing an internship at National Geographic. Tonight we were looking at pictures on my phone and I showed her one of Tracy. Kate said "hold you" which she has done before with a picture of Tracy. Guess I'm no substitute - not that I really want to be. Tracy, we all want you back!

Otis

2009-03-28T08:01:00.001-07:00

Here's a picture of one of our sweet doggies - Otis. yes, his tongue really is that long. In fact, it's probably longer...most of the time it doesn't even fit in his mouth.

We found out this week that Otis has a mast cell tumor. It is a kind of cancer that is very common to boxers. The good news is that it looks well differentiated - which means that after having it removed he probably won't need more treatment. He has surgery next Friday.

It may seem silly or sentimental to post this about a dog, but it made me sad - and I am very thankful that he will probably be alright. Besides, anyone who has met Otis loves him.

Spring

2009-03-12T07:05:00.000-07:00

"See, the former things have taken place, and new things I declare;
before they spring into being I announce them to you." Isaiah 42:9

I love Spring! It gives me hope and makes me feel lighter. For the past few days it has been incredibly warm around here. It seems like overnight all the trees are blooming and most of the daffodils (my favorite) are in bloom. Probably because I planted them this fall, my daffodils have yet to peek their pretty little faces out.

Flowers that Brian got for me.

Blurry, but these are the blooms on our little tree in the front yard.

The neighbors' Bradford Pear

One of my daffodils, just about ready to open up.

As I write this, it is 40 degrees outside and gloomy. But the trees and the flowers are telling me that winter will soon be over for good!! (or at least until December)

ok, ok.

2009-03-11T09:49:00.000-07:00

I finally remembered to bring my camera and take pictures of something besides cupcakes and cookies.

This past weekend, we celebrated my aunt Karla's 50th birthday. And since Monterrey in Oak Ridge has the best Mexican food around, we went there. We were all supposed to wear funny hats, just fyi. Here are some pictures:

Grandmom and Grandad - so cute.

Note Karla's princess hat :)

Me in my mom's sombrero

Tezra and me.

Brian in his uber cool beads.

Karla with her cupcakes.

(I am awesome)

I love Tracy Pollock :)

1st Anniversary

2009-02-02T09:51:00.000-08:00

January 26th was our first wedding anniversary. We were glad to be able to spend the whole day together. Brian brought home our favorite bagels for breakfast. The rest of our day was spent running errands and just generally hanging out. That night, we ended up unintentionally recreating our first date. For our first date, I had Brian pick me up at Borders and then we went to Lakeside Tavern for dinner. We had already planned on going to Lakeside Tavern, but a quick errand before dinner found us at Borders, which we thought was fitting.

Brian got me a very pretty emerald (my birthstone) ring for our anniversary. I got him a much less exciting Columbia ski jacket and gloves. I think he was excited about it though. More than the ring, I am so grateful for a man who is a great husband, friend, and partner. He laughs with me in my silliness and bears my irritability with grace. Life is an adventure in the Rozmus house and I cannot wait to see what God holds for us in the coming years.

Self-Portrait

We did have the waitress take a picture of the two of us, but I didnt' like it.

Fun in the Snow!

2009-01-21T10:08:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, we woke to a light dusting of snow covering everything. I know it wasn't much, but we take what we can get here in the southeast. Because school was out, Brian and I had Devan and Maeson for the day. Here are some pictures of play time.

Maeson, Devan, and their snow angels.

Otis in his snow coat.

D on the playground.

Mae doing "superman" in the swing.

Brian all bundled up.

Brian's Birthday.

2009-01-21T10:04:00.000-08:00

Brian's birthday was the 9th (yeah, I know, I'm a little late in posting) We celebrated his 28th with monkey bread in the morning:

That night, we had dinner at Peerless and then met up with friends at Starbucks. A fun time was had by all :)

Growth Plan

2009-01-15T07:51:00.000-08:00

Ok, I know it is halfway through January and I'm just now writing about my growth plan. ...that sentence was written like people are out there chomping at the bit to see it...or like I've ever published one before...

Really, I made this plan before the new year began and I have been working on it. I'm publishing it here for accountability's sake. Or encouragement, whatever.

2009 Growth Plan - Teagan

1/2 hour of devotion 5 days a week
Read 12 personal growth/nonfiction books
Fast 12 days
Meditate on Scriptures during devotion
Share my faith with 12 people
Exercise 3 hours a week
Eat 1500-1600 calories/day

Everything seems to be coming along with the big exception of exercise. I have yet to hit the three hour mark - and that's not even a big goal! But thanks to a trip to McKays from Brian which brought a TaeBo video and a cardio dance video, maybe I'll up my time spent. I'm still sweating from this morning's workout.

Brian has a growth plan too - I'll make him post it...or get ahold of it and post it myself.

Okay, bring on the encouragement. Or post your plan! I'd love to see it!!

Aquarium in NJ

2009-01-04T11:54:00.001-08:00

Living in the southeast most of my life, traveling to another state is typically a long trip. But while we were in Philadelphia we went to New Jersey a couple of times and also to Delaware. So cool! Here are some pictures from the aquarium in Camden, NJ.

Jay, Claire, and Me.
Brian and me in the jungle.

Various marine specimens.

Jay and Claire before Brian rescued them from the shark.

Cheesesteak and Wawa

2008-12-30T14:10:00.000-08:00

Here's some more love from Philadelphia. Two things that we don't have in Tennessee: real cheesesteaks and Wawa.

Brian and I eating real cheesesteaks at Thunderbirds.

(and these weren't even the best ones)

Claire and I were so happy to get coffee from Wawa :)

Philadelphia - Liberty/Independence

2008-12-29T06:01:00.000-08:00

Here's our first installment of Philadelphia pics. The first full day we were in Philly, Brian and I braved the cold and went downtown to check out the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall. It was honestly so cold I couldn't think - I am a southern girl through and through :)

In front of the bell. People offered to take this for us, which proves my theory that there are nice people everywhere.

(the opposite theory was later proved when we observed a woman yelling in another woman's face after a fender bender in the Wal-Mart parking lot)

Brian's in the money :)

That's Independence Hall in the background. The tour was free and a nice little history lesson.

Amari had a party

2008-12-16T10:44:00.000-08:00

My niece, Amari, turned 1 this past week. Her parents threw her a party at Gatti's in Oak Ridge. I, of course, supplied the cupcakes.

Also, my little sister, Julie, and her boyfriend, Mike came to visit on Saturday and Sunday. We had fun hanging out and going to church with them on Saturday and then Julie and Mike came with me to Amari's party on Sunday while Brian was at work.

Julie and the birthday girl.

Amari sleeping on her grammy's shoulder.

Mike and Julie.

Melinda and Tezra - OGs.

Amari and her "baby cake" Which, sadly, I decorated.

It looks turdlike. I need lessons.

Sharon's Birthday

2008-12-08T09:47:00.001-08:00

Okay, some friends have recently commented that my blog seems to be more and more about food. So, I have to make two comments to that.
1) I have created a blog to display the treats I've made http://ktowntreats.blogspot.com/
2) This post is about my friend, Sharon. (we just happened to make cupcakes)

and on to the post...

Sharon's birthday was November 30th. After going out for Mexican food, we came back to the house and made almond sponge cupcakes (almond spongecake cupcakes?). Sharon is quite the baker - you should see her folding technique...I felt a little threatened.

Finished product = very yummy.

Sharon enjoying her birthday treats.

Christmas-time!

2008-12-06T06:57:00.000-08:00

The day after Thanksgiving, we put up our brand new pre-lit Christmas tree. Since this is our first married Christmas, we learned new things about each other even in this process :) There may have even been a 'discussion' over ornaments. We had fun though and here are a few pictures to prove it.

Brian 'building' the tree.

I think this one is funny.

Obligatory self-portrait.

Finished product.

Girl's Night + Ornaments

2008-12-06T06:47:00.000-08:00

Here is the post that three of my friends have already posted. A long time ago (well, almost two weeks) The ladies from our small group met at Mellow Mushroom for some great food and an ornament exchange.

I am very glad that Bird got the bird ornament. My favorite moment was when Jen S. opened the last package which was a photo frame ornament with a picture of Bird in it!! hysterical!

Tracy and me being fabulous.

exchanging ornaments.

Bird and bird.

Chocolate Spritz Cookies

2008-11-20T08:31:00.000-08:00

It was my turn to make dessert for small group this week, so I consulted with my nephew on what to make. He told me I should make something chocolate. We decided to make chocolate spritz cookies.

Devan got bored after the actual cookie making process. He did love using the cookie press, which looks an awful lot like a space age gun. Anyway, after the cookies were cool, I got creative with the chocolate and sprinkles and here's what came out.

Two-toned hearts. We're gonna call these other guys wreaths.

cute little christmas tree.

Here's the tray of cookies all ready to be consumed by small group friends. I was secretly delighted when Evan had to take the tray and hide them from members who wanted to snack before group even started. (dessert is supposed to be after small group)

Here's Devan eating one of the finished products. He regained interest when they were all done :)

Gingerbread Cuties

2008-11-08T17:26:00.000-08:00

Okay, I know I have a boring life when all I can find to blog about is food. Either that or I just really love to bake.

This past week, I took on gingerbread. The first batch I made (of which I have no pictures) I rolled out too thin. The result was tasty, but crispy cookies. The second batch (seen here) were both delicious and soft.

Maeson and I got to share them with my mom and little brothers and then with Brian and his fellow medics.

Unfrosted gingerbread. Don't you love my gingerbread dog? Also, this is my gingerbread twist - I did this with the dough that remained after the last cookie cutting.

Frosted delights. I used maple flavoring in the icing -mmmm mmmm. And, as you see here, I put some of my gingerbread cookies on a spice cake with maple buttercream frosting. My cake decorating skills leave something to be desired, but rest assured it tasted fantastic.

halloween cookies

2008-10-31T07:19:00.001-07:00

Because I had been wanting to use my giant assortment of cookie cutters and because I wanted to occupy Maeson for the afternoon, we made halloween sugar cookies yesterday.

The best part of this experience is that I think I finally found an icing recipe that does what I want. It dries hard and shiny and, with the addition of almond flavoring, tastes just like a bakery that used to be in downtown Oak Ridge.

I may try to get my cookies a little fluffier or chewier next time, these were a bit crispy for me. My icing technique needs some work too, but I think this was a successful attempt.

Pre-icing cookies.

I experimented with using different sprinkles to make pumpkin stems. Also, this is Maeson's cute and girly pumpkin.

Bat, cat, and ridiculously cute ghost.

little helper

2008-10-31T06:57:00.000-07:00

my new job of late has been keeping my niece, maeson, after preschool. weekdays at 2:45, I drive over to Grace and pick her up.

Maeson loves to help me with everything I do. I feel so bad when I sometimes have to tell her that she can't help! She helped me make cookies yesterday (pics in the next post).

She also loves my bathtub and I like putting it to go use. So, here are some pictures of Maeson taking a "tubby"

gotta love that bubble beard

contemplating the soap

mmmmm bubbles!

Mis Suegros

2008-10-28T08:36:00.000-07:00

Brian and I had the pleasure of hosting his parents and sister, Claire, at our house this past weekend.

Though I did, at one point, put my camera in my purse with the intent of taking some pictures, it never happened. So, this is a picture of Brian's family from our wedding.

We cooked dinner for them on Friday night and even had a cake to celebrate Mernie's birthday. (It was chocolate with chocolate truffle frosting mmmm).

On Saturday, we mostly just hung out together. We went shopping, had lunch, and saw an "amazing" overlook at K-25. That night we parted ways so that Brian and I could be at my parents lake house for a family event. Sunday was spent in church and then a long and scrumptious lunch at Carraba's. That afternoon we walked and played cards. The Rozmus' headed out on Monday morning.

I am so blessed and lucky to have in-laws like Mike and Mernie. They are truly caring and wise people...and they like me :)

cake wrecks

2008-10-21T19:49:00.000-07:00

i was talking to my friend, tracy at small group tonight about cooking. mostly, because she recently posted a blog on her "chicken debacle" anyway, things often don't turn out how I expect them to in the kitchen either.

For example, I made some very tasty cake bites for dessert tonight. The inspiration was this:

Here's what came out:

definitely, not what was intended. Mind you, we were painting with toothpicks and chocolate because the edible marker would not write on chocolate. And it was my first try. AND they still tasted great.

(by the way, the inspiration came from bakerella: http://bakerella.blogspot.com/)

here are a couple of cake bites born out of Rozmus creativity:

1) skull with cut off mandible (made by Brian):

2) cutest cake bite there ever was (made by me):

if that doesn't make you feel better about life, please click on the following link and laugh with me:

http://cakewrecks.blogspot.com/2008/06/naked-mohawk-baby-carrot-jockeys.html

(i cried a little, even)

Strawberry Cupcakes

2008-10-20T08:13:00.001-07:00

My little sister, Katey, turned 21 this past week ( I can't believe it!) We had a cookout for her on Saturday and she requested strawberry cupcakes.

I used an old family recipe (pretty sure it's my great-grandmothers) for strawberry cake, but made cupcakes instead.

Now, I'm the kind of baker that prefers good taste to good looks (sometimes they compete. fondant, for example, does not taste good). But I wanted Katey's cupcakes to look pretty.

They tasted FANTASTIC, if I can toot my own horn. I'll let you be the judge on the aesthetics. And if anyone out in blog-land can tell me how to keep strawberry buttercream from getting runny, I'll make you a whole batch of cupcakes!

Greatest Husband in the World

2008-10-17T07:25:00.000-07:00

This Saturday (10.18.08) is the anniversary of our engagement. Because he'll be working on the actual day, Brian chose last night to celebrate. It was a truly indulge Teagan kind of day. He picked up my niece from school so that I could go to group supervision. Then, just after I got home, he and Maeson came in and they gave me these flowers:

They smell great and there are sprigs (?) of eucalyptus in the bouquet. For dinner he took me to Lakeside Tavern:

We had our first date at this restaurant. If you live in the Knoxville area and haven't been - go! It's full of yummy things (mmmmm - honey mustard). Brian and I spent most of our dinner talking about what we've learned and how things have changed since our first date. We also laughed about how nervous we were and what we were thinking on that first date.

I didn't take any pictures of our lovely evening (forgot the camera). Here's one of us from this morning. I call it the no make-up, morning, we're married now picture.

Oh and I almost forgot! Brian even watched Bridget Jones's Diary with me last night!!! He's the best in the world. I love him and can't believe how God has blessed me with such a hero.

Brian's Boys

2008-10-11T07:20:00.001-07:00

It's only appropriate that we post a blog with Brian's small group guys - since they are such a big part of our lives. They are so grown up now - with jobs and girlfriends - these are a few recent pictures.

chicken cups

2008-09-25T20:30:00.001-07:00

this blog has a few motivations/ inspirations:

1)I don't want to eat a sandwhich for both lunch and dinner tomorrow

2)my little pony is not a post worthy of longevity

3)I wanted to try my hand at those food blogs that make you wish you could reach through your computer screen and get what they're cooking (see: greenlitebites or bakerella)

so...courtesy of my friend, Marta, who gave me the recipe...I made chicken cups tonight. Didn't ask a lot of questions about the recipe before I made it, just dove right in. So, I'm not sure if I was supposed to make little lids for the cups or not (I don't think so). And I should have asked how Marta gets them out of the muffin tin when they're done. I settled on a two fork method...after a couple fell apart. Anyway, these are delicious!!!

I also made another dish. The second one had all the same ingredients plus extra broccoli put into a round pan and covered- just didn't feel like rolling out more muffin cup sized treats. I'm open to suggestions on what to call it.

Anyway, here are the artsy, don't-you-wanna-eat-it pics:

my little pony

2008-09-18T06:20:00.000-07:00

ok, not really. there's this horse on the route that Otis and I have been walking in the morning and I swear he comes over to say hi to us every time. This morning I remembered to bring my camera. Otis was calm long enough for me to snap a few pictures and then proceded to lunge at the horse. I don't think he has the healthy fear of horses that I do.

Here are a couple of pictures of the horse, which I'm calling horsey (so creative, I know)

Class A Day

2008-09-15T07:50:00.001-07:00

Here is a not-quite-awake Brian in his Class A shirt. His service let's them just wear uniform T-shirts in the summer and today is the first day he had to wear the Class A again. It's just a small sign that fall is upon us.

There are other small signs. Today's high is only 78, for example. That's nowhere near cool, but it was only 67 degrees when I took Otis on a walk this morning...I even wore pants instead of capris :) Of course we have football to remind us that cooler days are coming.

So, I'm ready. Bring on the colored leaves...let's go take a hike in the Smokies. Give me some pumpkin pie already!

First Post

2008-09-11T08:27:00.000-07:00

hello!

welcome to the new blog. I figured I had better not leave you hanging if you actually made the click over here :) More posts coming soon, for now I'll leave a few pictures just for fun. I'll entitle these "Teagan has fun with photoshop" see if you can find the changes I made: