tomorrow is christmas eve!
it seems like it came so soon, yet not so soon.
that remark reminds me of a chef on the food network, some pretty girl with a giant head who cooks italian food. everything is "sweet but not sweet" or "tart but not tart". ha! i can't stop watching the food network when i'm off work and it makes me want to both cook and EAT!
i've been out of control eating since thanksgiving, yet i stopped exercising. finally, i started again on monday and hopefully i'll continue through christmas break with dad and ryan good (and anyone else!) at the YMCA and then with mom edwards (maybe pilates? :) in bg and then a great run with heidi in boardman, OH. did i mention that she ran the New York City marathon last month? a-ma-zing.

anyhoo, it feels good to get back into the swing of things. i'm just randomly training, but sort of on the same track as i was training for the triathlon, just because it seemed so healthy for my body. mare and i will be completing a half century (50 mile) bike race and/or adventure race this spring, so good to get some conditioning in now...

tomorrow we head out for ohio. pray for safe travels and no delays and no illness this christmas.
dad edwards, i liked your picture diary. they were so fun--especially the picture of matt with sweet hannah! i wonder what is happening with the possible new edwards home?

matt and i had fun the other night making a christmas mix--it ended up being 4.6 hours and we played it at our recent christmas party. i'm bringing it home for christmas so we can all be festive at home. speaking of which, it is most definitely going to be a white christmas. and for that, i am pumped!!! especially if i can go sledding or have a snowball fight! yes!!!

welp, i'm going to get going now.
merry christmas to all and to all a good night!!!
can't wait to see you all!

yay! i'm on christmas break now!
hooray!

for my last day of school, i had one of the best quotes from a first grader yet!

me: (reading the grinch and noticing a little boy picking his nose) he had to stop christmas from coming, but HOW? erik, if you need a tissue, there is one on the table.
erik: (takes a tissue, quickly wipes his nose and throws the tissue in the trash)
me: good job~ then he had an idea. the grinch had a wonderful, awful idea... erik, stop picking your nose.
erik: (smiles and giggles) aw, but i like to pick my nose.
me: i know, but you can't pick your nose at school. it's gross.
erik: i pick my nose at home...(pauses) a LOT (he adds with a grin).
me: (trying not to laugh)
erik: but my mom always catches me.
me: okay, hold on just a second, boys. (i turn to my desk to write down this gem and when i look up, there he is, lips and surrounding areas covered in red gunk) erik, what is on your face?
erik: what? it's lipstick.
it was actually chapstick, and he looked like a clown. it just added to the whole experience, i must say.

matt and i had a really fun party here friday night. we had 3 other couples over for a christmas party and i made a ton of food-chili, cheesy potatoes, roasted vegetables with orzo pasta, stuffed mushrooms, bread and cheese, mozzarella/basil/tomato skewers, and a few other random things. we made grasshoppers to drink and our friend brought this warm cranberry wine drink and we all sat by the tree and exchanged gifts and laughed and talked all night. my friend marni brought me back this amazing ring from australia that is a swirl. i love it, but it is too big, so i have to get it sized. which i will investigate tomorrow, my first monday of christmas break!

matt gave me my christmas gift, a pink hawaiian print roxy suitcase, which i've been wanting forever! and a cute little matching train case/makeup bag thing. and also a cordouroy purse and a dvd "the nightmare before christmas". yay!
i also gave him his birthday present a little early, but he'll have to tell you about that!

so we're heading over to our friends house (marni and eddie) to get our dog fix (with their silly dog, rocco). plus, eddie brought matt a cuban cigar back from australia, so the boys want to smoke those. and i think we're going to watch a christmas movie. so i must be going!

justin, i meant to say that i loved your videoblogs! except for the drainage pads.

last night matt and i went to my work party. it was held at this beautiful home (parents of one of the teachers) near old town. they even had a gas firepit outside in their beautifully landscaped front yard. i also got a job offer (from the wife of one of the teachers) to do speech therapy at a nursing home. i don't feel confident in my skills with adults, but i was assured that i would get some more training. just a few weekend/evening hours--and i may take it after the holidays. or i may not. we shall see... i introduced matt to everyone, of course. and at least 5 teachers made the joke that "there will be a quiz at the end of the night". hardeeharhar. teacher humor. it was fun to be outside of work and not talking about work, though. i get in my head and i'm overwhelmed at work, so there's really no time for chatting. so it was nice.

then we came home, drank a little champagne, i got sushi, and we rented "boomtown", a tv show that should have never been cancelled.

yesterday the surf was super high--6-10 foot waves, so i went to watch it on my lunch break-so amazing. i never get tired of it! i haven't checked the surf report yet today, but if it has died down, we're going surfing today. it's going to be 70 degrees again.

i had a dream that i was giving hannah a bath last night. she was fat and bald and splashy, just like she is in real life! yay!

music i'm listening to: sarah mclachlan, sufjan stevens, new U2, new jimmy eat world (michelle-i'll burn it for you, you'll be into it--it's like the clarity album).

5 more days of school until christmas break!
23 more days until our 7 year anniversary!
28 more days until matt is 30 years old!

surprisingly, i actually remember most of those songs from 1990, dad edwards. not that they were quite my style, but i do remember them from top 40 radio and mtv. and even just seeing the titles made the memories rush back.
and i remember that christmas 15 years ago (on a side note--do you remember saying, "i wonder if we were ever in the same place at the same time before we knew each other?"). but 15 years ago, i was celebrating christmas with my family and the edwards family was celebrating--little did i know that i would become part of your family.

at christmastime 15 years ago, my family had just moved to cincinnati and i was absolutely devastated and lonely. i wrote out my christmas list, as i did every year, but at the top of the list i wrote "friends". i can only now imagine how heartbreaking that must have been for my parents to see. my mom did have a good sense of humor about it, though, and gave me a stress ball shaped like a face with ears that stuck out and the box read, "your new best friend". ha!

it was our second christmas without my dad's father, grandpa good.

i do remember getting the "flood" album from they might be giants for christmas that year. and the sundays old one.

it was a rough christmas, complete with my teen angst. :)
little did i know the lord was breaking my heart in order to get in and start healing it and drawing me near.

only at christmas time-
sufjan stevens

another addition the christmas list-o:

polar heart rate monitor: $49.99
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B0000V1PLM/qid=1102298266/sr=8-1/ref=pd_csp_1/102-7343027-3494523?v=glance&s=hpc&n=507846

i know a swiss cake roll has no nutritional value.
and i'm aware that it probably is not actual food at all--just chemicals and synthetic flavored matter--but i'm eating one right now and it brings back great memories of my grandma good. so there!

here is my long-awaited christmas list, for those of you who care:

1. jean jacket from jcrew-size XS on sale for $49.99
http://www.jcrew.com/catalog/product.jhtml?id=prod61481791&catId=cat64614

2. camelbak charm hydration system $34.99
color: sky blue
http://www.rockymountaintrail.com/detail.aspx?ID=9630

3. subscription to runner's world magazine $20.00
http://www.uSubscribe.com/order.cfm?tid=10257&plky=O19684>SE=GOOG>KW=Runner%27s+World+Magazine

4. gift certificates to express,gap, and target (for sweaters and board games)

5. book: Run Fast: How to Beat Your Best Time by Hal Higdon
http://www.halhigdon.com/books/bookorder.htm


that's it for now... peace out

i will finally write now.
happy thanksgiving everyone!!!

we had a great time with mom and dad edwards, justy, michael, mary, and casey (and silly bo!) at lake arrowhead. mary had found us a cabin with character and a magnificent view. matt and i woke up to a view of the lake surrounded by mountains. once i woke up early and it was just light out with the sun peeking over the edge and a full moon on the other side over the lake---so beautiful.

highlights of the trip:
-driving to the cabin and seeing palm trees on the hwy next to us and a snow-capped mountain in the near distance
-snowball fight with PERFECTLY packing snow!
-watching the sun set over the lake
-watching a funny and crazy skeleton movie with dad (which provided a plethora of jokes and references)
-playing balderdash with everyone (including the famous and active bocifus)
-hilarious knitting with mary and mom
-eating yum yum food all weekend
-reading a book while drinking hot chocolate in front of a crackley fire in the fireplace
-SNOWBOARDING!!! what??? how have i lived here for over 2 years and not experienced this sooner? snowboarding is what i anticipate to be a new addiction, due to the level of fun-ness and not-too-hard-ness. fun like surfing but easier than surfing. the more i try to compare the two, the less alike they are. therefore, i will not compare anymore. matt and mary were out of control good at it (matt flying past every person on the slopes, mare flying but by carving the slopes and having such quick control). mikey and i bonded on the bunny hill and then the bigger hill. YES!!! so fun!!! next time, justin must be present...

we had a great time with everyone--we love you all!

and now back to reality.
i just counted and realized i had a total of 3 days in the whole month of november where i did NOT have at least one IEP meeting. it's not just the actual meeting, it's all the paperwork involved before we even get to that point--argh-stress! december will be much the same, but 2 weeks off will be a nice reward at the end. speaking of which, we still need to get tickets home for christmas. we kept waiting for them to go down under $300, but that hasn't happened and it won't, i'm sure. oh well, matt is in charge of that job this year!

welp, i'm hungry so i'm out of here.

before i forget:
2 funny kid quotes... (haven't done one of these for awhile, have i? that's because i've been so busy/stressed that i haven't really enjoyed my job lately. but here we go now...)

first one:
i was seeing a group of 4 kids- 2 boys, 2 girl, and the boys are brothers (1st and 2nd grade). well one of the boys had to go to the bathroom, so of course i excused him. we went on with our activity until his brother said, "where's damian?" and i said, "in the bathroom" and he said, "what's taking so long? usually it only takes like 20 seconds." i said, "well, sometimes it takes people longer than 20 seconds." then he got a hilarious look on his face and said, "i know what he's doing! and it starts with the letter 'p'!" the girls started giggling and i was trying not to. and then he realized that both start with the letter 'p' so he revised his thought.... "well, it's the one that's not spelled with the 'ee' and it rhymes with 'oop"!
so hard not to laugh, but i managed!

next!
yesterday, we were making "speech turkeys" by tracing our hand and then adding giant paper feathers to the hands to make them into turkeys. we then were writing/drawing pictures of our targeted speech words on the feathers. fun, eh? well, my sweetie 1st graders were working so hard, cutting and gluing and practicing their sounds. one boy kept layering on many feathers, to the point where i had to tell him to move on or he wouldn't have time to draw. then i was praising all of them, saying "man! these are some of the best speech turkeys i have seen all day!" and the little boy said, "yes, and mine is the featheryest!!!" with a huge grin on his face.
yes, a new adjective+superlative is born.

matt took me out to dinner last night, since we didn't do anything on my birthday. we went to this cool restaurant in point loma, actually, called "old venice", italian, of course. they have a cool bar/waiting room attached, with white walls and white candles and a huge fireplace with big, white wingback chairs. it reminded us of a huge, old house. we ended up having to wait over an hour for a seat outside, but it was worth it. so beautiful and the food was great. yay!

t-minus-27 hours until the edwards family arrives!
lots of chores and errands to do before that happens, though.

oh yeah, i had such a fun time in boardman, ohio with my dear friend heidi. they say you're lucky if you find one lifelong friend in your life, and i have at least 4. one is from kindergarten, when i was 4 years old with my little pigtails. i was in the library with my class and me and this other little girl were going around the tables (not really running, just being spunky). and i said, "do you want to be my friend? and michelle cho said "yes". and then we shared our snack later. i had carrots, which she wanted. and she had oreos, which i wanted. then she was in my wedding, taking care of everything. and now she has a 4 year old of her own (and a two year old and one on the way).

the other three are from college: teri, kelly, and heidi.
teri i met my freshman year of college, maybe the first few weeks or so. i can't remember our first actual meeting, because everyone just hung out all the time, but i do remember her watching "rush limbaugh" (which i hated) and mtv's 120 minutes (which i loved) in our dorm lounge. then we started talking and slowly figured out that we wanted to know more about God. and we started going to a bible study (me mostly to argue with/question our leader, dyan) and we started on that journey together, asking each other questions, praying together, and then i accepted the lord a year later, and teri was with me. and we were baptized together later. we shared some of the most intimate times with the Lord together. and a million other things happened in between and since.

oh yeah, at that same bible study, we met our friend kelly, who i thought was pretty religious at first. also, she had a loud voice (LIKE I CAN TALK!) in our lounge (by the way, my dorm room was right off the lounge, so anything that went on there became my business). she tried to witness to me and answer questions at bible study and she was in spain when i gave my life to the lord. but she came home the next semester and we spent thousands more hours talking and laughing in both of our loud voices! and we lived together for several years (ter lived with us for a year, too) and if one of us went away for the weekend, we'd have to make up for all the talking we had missed and we'd stay up late sunday nights chatting.

i met heidi through matt and joel, actually, at the beginning of my sophmore year of college. they said, "you have to meet this cool girl" and when she and i met, we decided to have lunch the next day. ("i would never to that in real life!" heidi says now.) we ended up chatting for hours at that lunch the next day and were joined at the hip the rest of the year. we really only had 8 months together and she left BG the next year to go to chiropractic school in atlanta and i grieved. but here it is, 10 years later, and we're still getting together.

but i guess what i'm trying to say is that when the Lord connects you, really knits your soul to someone else's, it is forever sometimes. no matter how much time you spend together or how much time has passed or how much space divides you.

and then there is family, which justin covered in his most recent blog.
and i'll do that someday, too, but that is another blog...

hey, if anyone wants to see how muddy mare and i were after our muddy buddy race, here is a link:

http://www.verismile.com/mp_includes/index.asp

outdoor ministry????
that's what i want to do!
(see mom edwards blog for reference)

seriously, i have been thinking about what i want to do for my next job. i'm sensing a change coming up in my life-- ph.d? teach college, outdoor education, mare! yes! fitness/nutrition--i've been getting so into it lately. on that note, i want to give a shout out to my brother rydogg, who has lost 15 pounds in 3 weeks--by eating BREAKFAST and regular snacks (healthier, of course, but regular---he says he hasn't been hungry yet). nice work! and to michelle: you can do it! i KNOW you can! plus, there's $200 at stake here... :)

but anyhoo. how can i become a paid world traveler? i just don't want to lose my summers off, this job is seriously wearing me out. a good portion of my day ends up turning into paperwork that is required by the state/federal government in order to cover my patoot so i don't get in trouble. enough of that venting. i do still love being a speech therapist. but what else might be out there for me? this is what i want to know...

welp, i need to start getting this house ready for our new influx of thanksgiving guests on sunday! :)

i'm up a little early so thought i'd blog...
mary gave a fun recap of the muddy buddy, so i'll try not to repeat too much...

kelly and spivey and matt came to cheer us on and support us, which was so nice!
just a little background. the race was held at joseph grant state park in san jose, which was beautifully surrounded by and in the mountains. it was for sure the most beautiful course in which i have competed. so the entire race was completed on a wide dirt trail (wide enough for a car to get through). runners on the right, bikers on the left. the atmosphere was so fun. some people had on costumes, wigs, etc. and had decorated their bikes in crazy ways. everybody was pretty rowdy, which made it nice and relaxed (not as competitive as triathlon or half marathon).

1 mile: mary biking, me running-- what was supposed to be a "gradual" uphill turned into ridiculousness within 60 seconds. all bikers were hopping off their bikes and walking them up the hill. nothing was heard but huffing and puffing along with some cuss words by angry/exhausted racers. so mare and i got to do at least a little bit of the race together in the beginning. it helped for sure. the hill flattened out after a while so i ran up ahead while mare hopped on the bike again and i yelled, "mare, it's downhill from here!" then i turned a corner and MORE uphill. it turned into a short downhill (where mare took off) and we came upon our first obstacle.

THE ARMY CRAWL: mare had put the bike down and completed the obstacle and started running by the time i arrived. i army crawled under a net that was on the ground (that hooked onto my helmet every foot i advanced :). then i found the bike sitting in the grass, hopped on, and started to pedal. ahhhh.... downhill flying. i started to feel guilty for having such a nice bike ride after what mary just endured! and then minor uphill crawling. and repeat that throughout the next 1.3 miles. i passed mare somewhere in there and yelled encouragement and she yelled back. on one of the super fast downhills i started laughing with glee. then i noticed some larger fist-sized rocks in the trail that i was about to run over as i was passing another biker. "ahhhhhh" i yelled. and whew! came out of it just fine. and just in time to see a man laid out at the bottom of the hill with his bike on the other side of the trail, wheel still spinning. yikes.
but then on to obstacle #2:

THE TRIANGLE ROPE WALL: i've seen enough of these adventure reality shows to know how to do this deal! i put down my bike, climbed up one side and down the other and i was off and running for 1.4 miles of mostly flatness and some rolling hills. i chugged away and then i heard mare yelling my name from about a quarter mile back. she came flying by on the bike as she yelled encouragement. after a while, i started to get tired and then i remembered that the "mystery obstacle" was up ahead.

THE INFLATABLE SLIDE WALL THING: picture a giant inflatable slide (at least 20 feet high, 12 or so feet wide) with a rope wall on one side. not too difficult to climb up and then when we arrived at the top-pure steepness! and then i screamed the whole way down! so fun!!! i picked up the bike that mary had left there and started pedaling for 1.4 more miles. after a while, i saw mare's red shirt bobbing up and down in the distance so i started yelling after her. not too long after i spotted her, i came to the easiest obstacle:

THE MONKEY BARS: there was nothing glamorous about this obstacle. it was just like the monkey bars everyone played on in elementary school. i was delirious, however, and started climbing the opposite way on them. that is, until a high-school aged volunteer informed me of the error of my ways. that being over, i set off running for the last 1.2 miles to our destination finish line! mare caught up with me when there was about a half mile left. she slowed down and pedaled with me for a minute and offered to stay with me. what a nice girl! but no, i wanted her to enjoy the rest of that bike ride and i knew she'd only be waiting for me for a couple of minutes at the transition area. i finally arrived to hear the screaming people and the mud pit was in sight! i heard kelly screaming my name, which helped incredibly ( i was about to collapse) and then i saw mare, who also screamed my name. we had finally made it to:

THE MUD PIT: which was FREEZING!!!! but we were laughing hilariously the whole time!!! i couldn't believe how slowly we moved through that mud!!! at one point i said to mare, "i can't move!" and she said, "just swim--SWIM!" and that did sort of work. the crowd was screaming and then booing. in our delirious confusion we thought they were booing at us and we got even lower in the mud. until we looked around and saw some girls trying to run/walk through the pit. some guys came from the cheering section and tackled them and made them get down and crawl. so fun!!!! covered in slimy mud, we finally made it out and were laughing so hard. matt and kelly and spivey were there to greet us. yay!

after getting food and chatting with those three for awhile, mare and i rinsed off. the rinse off area consisted of about 50 hoses hooked up to a giant pole. everybody was rinsing off and spraying each other and yelling--more rowdiness and fun. i wish i could have had a picture of that funniness!

oh, side note-- spivey won a bike rack in the raffle! $85 value, and he gave it to us, saying "trace, you're the star athlete--you deserve it" so fun to have a former BGSU football player respect you as an athlete!

anyways, the muddy buddy was one of the most fun things i have ever done in my life! i know mare agrees--mare, thanks for yet another excellent event! see you next year in san jose for round 2!!!!!

hey, quick blog here---
michelle and i are going to be on the price is right tomorrow!!!!
set your VCRs--we're in the second row and one of the girls in the group next to us is the first one to "come on down!"

i'll write about muddy buddy later--trying to get ready for my trip this weds-sunday to go see heidi!

another monday down...

stressful life situations here, especially at my school called barnard (where i am two days/week).
the principal, we think, maybe has some mental health issues going on...
i will describe:

okay, there have been so many problems between the teachers and this principal that we had a meeting set up with the union representative last wednesday. we had all known about the meeting for about three weeks and new and ridiculous things were being said by the principal each day. last wednesday my friends--the counselor, resource specialist, and nurse-- all witnessed the following altercation:

principal to secretary: arlene, i want you to go to the union meeting today and report back to me what the teachers are saying. (uh, by the way, TOTALLY illegal!!!)
secretary: (loudly) i'm not going to be your snitch!
principal: arlene, this really isn't the time or the place for this.
secretary: (even louder) no way! i'm not going to snitch on the teachers!!!
principal: this isn't the time or the place, arlene.
secretary: i'm not going to be your snitch! the teachers already feel like you talk down to them--that's why they're meeting with the union in the first place!
principal: that's it! i'm calling the police!

[WHAT??????]

[seriously, if you can't resolve a simple argument without calling the police, you have a huge problem]

so the principal dials the police and in the meantime the secretary calls her own union, who tells her to LEAVE the school. the police arrive as she is leaving and they escort her out.. the principal yells after her, "arlene, i want you to come back, just not today. you can come back tomorrow, just not today." the secretary yells, "whatever, mary!!!!" and leaves.

so this is the fun scene that i face every day now. if i disagree with my principal, do the police get summoned? and do i get escorted away in front of all my kids?
it is a very stressful place to go to. and the teachers (who are fantastic,by the way) are totally worn down and it's only november. and i'm finding out that we basically have a pretty powerless union, so that is sort of disheartening in addition to all of this.

so on a better note: the new pinback album is incredible.

and tomorrow is election day, so matt and i are doing our final research tonight. i love that he and i can vote for different people and it doesn't phase either of us. that's a perk of being not into politics, i must say.

matt and i refinanced our home on saturday! we were chatting about the particulars of 5-year fixed rates and so on and i said, "matt! we're talking about refinancing our home. we are GROWN UPS now!" such an odd feeling. in my head i am still only 22 years old. crazy that i'll be 29 in just a couple of weeks. and then 30 in a year. but like i was telling michelle yesterday, the closer i get to 30, the better i feel. you know (or maybe you don't): less insecure, more bold, less caring about what people think about me, more confident in who God made me, more realistic about ideals and expectations for life. yeah, i'm not crazy about the fine lines around my eyes, but they're worth it when i think about how much more settled i feel, mentally.

speaking of getting older, it's 8:00, is it too early for bed? :) but seriously, i'm so sleepy. must be the time change. so sad to see the sun setting at 5:15 today....

welp, i have three more days to get in shape for the muddy buddy!
so looking forward to that fun mud-slopping time!!!
bye bye everybody.

my hair is getting pretty long. i think it is time for a haircut. and time to get all the blondie streaks out of it so it will stop looking so summery. maybe something darker or more red. we shall see....

it has been awhile since my last post, so i'll play catch up briefly. if you have read either matt's or mary's blogs, you will know that the muddy buddy was cancelled last sunday. mare and i found out as we were walking out of the hotel in the morning. NOOOOOO! first---disbelief??? then ANGER!!! and then sadness... then, finally, acceptance. they rescheduled it for saturday, nov. 5th (one day before heidi runs the new york city marathon!), so all is not lost. it actually works out better, since i had worked out only a total of 3 times in the 3 weeks leading up to the muddy buddy. now i've been able to get in a little more training, at least. AND we also were able to visit with kelly and spivey, who now live in san jose! so we'll stay with them on the 5th and matt will be able to come and visit this time, too!

mom edwards, i LOVE the gorillas that you made! if amani doesn't want them, i do!!!! such cutie guys with cute ears!!!
and yes yes to the hiking in lake arrowhead--can not wait! we'll bring/borrow some fun games for that thanksgiving celebration.

welp, matt and i are going to ortega's for dinner tonight.
(we're once again breaking our "no-visitors-until-thanksgiving" rule, and andy mccann is coming down for the weekend--he was lonely up in LA--what can we say?).
it's chow time--i must go!

happy birthday kevin!!!!! (a little late!!!)

we had yet another great weekend here.
saturday, kelly, my college roommate and longtime friend, came in to town around 10:30 am. we chatted and laughed and ate lunch at rancho's (yummy mexican, of course), walked on the beach, chatted and laughed some more, made tacos for dinner, and she ended up staying the night (even though her company has paid for a hotel!). so sunday morning we got up and kel decided to skip her first session so we went to sunset cliffs with our starbucks (decaf mocha-mmm). she decided she had to attend the rest of the events at the conference, which was fine, because matt and i went to puerto nuevo (mexico) with our friends.

it ended up being a perfect beautiful day in a small mexican town. there was fun music and dancing and it was right on the ocean. we ended up eating on the balcony of a littte restaurant while we looked at the ocean. and OH MY WORD--one of the best meals of my life! 2 spiny lobsters (fairly small, but i could still only eat one of them), tortillas, beans, rice, guacamole/salsa, and chips and a margarita (all for only $14-yes! i love mexico!). unlike matt, i felt fine-and so full--the rest of the night. then again, i don't have irritable bowels like he does... :) we bought a bottle of wine from a mexican vineyard and arrived home around 6pm.

this evening kelly is going to come over around 5:30, when her seminars are over, and we'll eat some dinner together. i haven't decided whether i'm going to make something or whether we will go out to eat. decisions, decisions.

how is it october 18th already? this is what i want to know! this saturday i'll be heading up to san jose and mary and i will be participating in the muddy buddy race (http://www.muddybuddy.com) on sunday. needless to say, i haven't been working out very much since the triathlon that took place only 2 weeks ago! oh well, we're not doing it to win. surely, you can all agree that it looks so fun (except for maybe dad edwards, who is not into crawling in mud pits!).

random notes:
-i'm happy for all of you astros fans (especially for my husband, because it does so make my life a little bit more pleasant when they win)!
-right now i'm reading "jane eyre", which i never read in high school. i'm actually pretty into it!
-it rained today for the first time in 6 months, confirmed on the news, of course, which considers the weather a the top story when a rare event like this happens. the roads were a complete mess, apparently. which makes me very thankful that i only had to drive 1/2 mile to work. it never did really come down here--just a few sprinkles. but matt got it further north. the end of that boring subject.
-i just received a nice letter from my grammy--thanks grammy, i know i've owed you one for a long time!!!
-i have made a pumpkin shaped candy jar and a cute little vase and a really ugly big vase in ceramics so far. i hope that they get fired in the kiln at some point this week so i can glaze them. i hope they don't blow up (which could happen if you don't make it the right way. which is probably likely to happen to me heehee!:)

welp, i'm out!

we had our little shindig last night. the andys came down around 3:00 pm and we were able to chill with them for a few hours before our other friends began arriving. i laughed so hard that i was down on the ground several times. when i first met matt and joel 10 years ago, they used to make me laugh so hard i would instantly go down (bladder protection, of course). i know i was young and out of control then, but every once in awhile matt will still get me. but when the three of those boys get together (the andys, matt), it's over for me! anyhoo, when we planned this party, we originally intended to go to oktoberfest, a festival that is across the street from us. but we were all having so much fun just chatting and laughing and hanging out at our house that we never made it over there!

today i got up early and went for a bike and run, in preparation for our muddy buddy. (oh mare--remember how my bike was making those wierd noises during the triath? well, yesterday i took it out for the first time since the race and when i was riding, it broke. it started rattling and swaying and wouldn't even pedal. i had to walk it home--thankfully, i was only a mile away. when i got home, i messed with it a little bit and figured out that the clamp that keeps the rear wheel on was loose--when i lifted the frame, it came straight off of the hanging tire--yikes! thank God that didn't happen during the triath--that would have stunk! anyhow, i think i have it all fixed up now...). then the boys woke up and me and astevens made egg tortillas for breakfast and we headed up to encinitas for a surf session. my first time on my new board! and although the water was rough, it was a smooth ride on my new boardie!!! i was exhausted and weak, and the waves were really strong (i had a couple of runs of pounding sand with my head before i said, "enough!"). we grabbed a pizza with the guys in encinitas and they hit the road and i bought new flipflops to replace my broken ones. yay! (10 points to whoever correctly identifies the number of run-on sentences in this blog entry!).

i'm happy to hear about other readers' plans for life.
a couple others on my list include:

-go snowboarding (hopefully at thanksgiving!)
-get better at surfing
-go to seattle, tanzania, hawaii again, bali, ireland, australia
-ride a century (100 km or mile) bike race (after completing some lesser ones-20/50 miles)--mare? are you in?
-be social director/hospitality coordinator for justin's production company :)

dad, can you do orienteering in teams? if so, we should get a family thing going--it sounds so fun. maybe you wouldn't want me on your team, though. i don't have the best sense of direction. i can read a map, though!

matt and i had a fun date last night.
we went to starbucks for coffee and sat in big, cushy chairs while we updated our list of "things i want to do in my lifetime".

it was fun to check off all the things that i have done that i set out to do as well.
for example:
-marry the perfect man for me
-move to california
-run a half marathon
-complete a triathlon
-take a ceramics class (i'm currently doing this--did you know that? expect some EXCELLENT christmas gifts! heehee...)
-and a thousand other things...

some things on my new list include:
-complete an adventure race
-learn how to play guitar
-see U2/beastie boys/travoltas in concert
-take a photography class
-get a dog
-take a bike tour (ireland? california?)
-go to some national parks (west and northwest US)
-and lots more that you're probably not interested in..

but i am interested in you, dear reader, and what you have on your list. so let's hear it!

mare, were you joking about the duffel bag and bo sleeping in it? if so, very funny. if not, even more funny! :)

i really must be going, though. my one job today is to get my clothes moved back into my closet in the guest room. they've been taking over matt's closet since early august, since we've had nonstop visitors. ahhh, my own space again! actually, my other job is to get some new flip flops, since my favorite ones broke the other day--so sad!!! :(
so have a good one, everybody!

wait--the fad i participated in (in the 80s) that i am probably most embarrassed of is my mall bangs. you know, the wave of sprayed solid hair sticking 3 inches (at least) off my forehead. this was in addition to a perm (and occasionally i would pull back one side with a plastic clip!) i too, had stirrup pants, which i wore with socks OVER the pants (coordinating with the shirt, of course) and black flats.--that's for you, bobby queen!

whew! made it through another week. i'm finally feeling better, but still not back to normal.
ah, the weekend. i think we're having a little get-together with some friends and the andys will come down from LA tomorrow.
what? more people visiting?
i made a deal with matt that he has to do all the cleaning and prep for this visit and party, because it was my understanding that we would have no more guests until thanksgiving. except that i also got an email from kelly (ramsey) spivey saying that they moved out to san jose and that she has a conference in san diego next weekend. how can we say no? we haven't seen her for 2 years!!! i'm so excited to be able to spend some real time with her!

by the way, here are some links to funny pictures of mary and i after our swim portion of the triath:
mary:
http://www.finishlinemobilephoto.com/mp_client/pictures.asp?action=viewphotos&size=fullsize&pagenum=26&id=417546&eventid=3584
me:
http://www.finishlinemobilephoto.com/mp_client/pictures.asp?action=viewphotos&size=fullsize&pagenum=24&id=417544&eventid=3584
there are also some running and biking ones, but i don't have the energy to cut and paste those deals. i look delirious in both-not to mention my shorts look like they're falling off! mary looks pretty good! there are no pictures of us together (even though we were next to each other the whole time!) and no pictures of us crossing the finish line--bummer, i wanted that one. oh well, we have the memories!

i'm going to try to get some pictures developed for our guestbook tonight--wish me luck! i've been trying to work on this project (for) FOREVER!!!!
and i think matt and i have a date at a fun coffeeshop that has white hot chocolate---SO GOOD, even though i'm not normally a white chocolate fan...

welp, i must be going, i hear matt is home.
have a great weekend everyone!

p.s. i hope acid-washed jeans don't come back!

p.s. they just posted our triath times: 1:32:17--yay! (and that is including the transition times)!

i am a triathlete! and so is mary!
yes!
so crazy to be able to say that!

so here's the story: mare came into town on friday evening and we picked up some wahoo's and enjoyed some conversation. matt and i went to bed early (i don't know why matt conked out! i was still sick-i had an excuse. and by the way, i lost my voice on thursday and it is replaced with a ridiculously hoarse and breathy voice with a ton of pitch breaks. so annoying to talk with and annoying for other people to listen to! it's a little better today, but still annoying).

saturday, mare and i went to the pre-race expo and we went to pick up our numbers and hear a triathlon guru (named "gurujan") talk about details of the triathlon. after what seemed like forever, we finally came home (he had a ton of good things to say, but it dragged on and i was fighting a fever. thankfully, he was at least funny and quirky. and bald. i don't know why that last quality seems important, but it just completes the picture of guru, i think). mare and i both took naps when we got home and sleepily woke up in time to go drop our bikes off at the transition area and go over the course.

mare and i made a yummy carb-loaded meal of spaghetti, bread and cheese, and salad. then we practiced our funny transitions (see her blog for extra details and procedures) while matt made fun of our alien swim-cap heads. "when you see me in this swim cap, you're going to wish you never married me," i said to matt. "you're right," he said when he saw me. HA! unfortunately, the fever i had been battling all day got the best of me. (doesn't God love me? why is He letting this happen to me NOW, of all times?----who else has had these irrational thoughts when you are sick? yet i've never wrestled with God over anything more than i have with disease and illness on this earth. but that's a way longer conversation-i digress...)

then, i got a nice call from my dear friend, heidi, calling to encourage me and give me tips to get better (calcium-for body aches, and a lemon bath, which supposedly draws toxins and infections out of your body through your skin. weird.) matt, mary, and i made a run to jamba juice to get smoothies with immune boosters in them and i came home and took the silly lemon bath and went to bed.

today: mare and i woke up at 5:00 am, full of adrenaline, and me feeling better (lemon bath? the Lord? both? i don't know). when we arrived at the transition area to set up our gear for the race, boy, were we glad we had gone to hear the guru! we had time to process and visualize and rehearse in our heads and were calm and ready to go in the morning. other people were asking out of control unprepared questions (when does my age group race? where do i put my bike?, etc.) and we were so glad to eliminate at least that portion of anxiousness from our day.

THE SWIM: we got halfway into our wetsuits and walked the 1/2 mile to the swim start and watched the pros and elites gracefully gliding through the water. then all the other men raced and mare and i were in the first female wave start. there were 15 wave starts, (1600 people competing total) and mary and i were in the 9th wave start.

anyhoo, as the time came closer to our wave, we got in the freezing cold water and were trying to practice swimming. not easy while hyperventilating from shock :). we were giggling and freaking out and chatting with the other girls in our age group (24-29). i started to feel really nervous and anxious. i heard a girl near me say, "ok, let's pray," to her two friends and i said all out of control, "oh, can we pray with you?" of course we could, they said. and we all held hands and prayed together. i felt better after that. i was telling matt about it after the race and he said, "i know. i saw you. i took a picture of you guys." that made me so happy!

so we got in line with all the other white and green swim caps and treaded water for 5 minutes until the siren signaled our start. we waited a few seconds (again, good advice from mr. guru) and then took off. instantly, i was on top of 5 girls, kicking and flapping! and during the first couple of stroke-breaths, i took in a large mouthful of saltwater. even though we were in a protected bay, the tide was coming in and there were still waves. waves which flung into the mouth. i lost mary and then switched back and forth from front crawl to backstroke when i couldn't breathe (i'm telling you people, it was hard to coordinate the breathing with the freezing cold and adrenaline and saltwater--matt has a hilarious video of this! as i watched, i thought, "hmm. my form looks pretty good." and then you see me stop and start coughing out of control-very funny!). we swam from one point along the shore to another point along the shore, with lifeguards on surfboards and jetskis monitoring us and yelling encouragement. after what seemed like a million years, i finally reached the end and ran to the transition area (maybe 100 yards away?).

TRANSITION #1: mr. guru told us that while swimming, the blood from our brains would be actually trying to get oxygen to our legs and arms, thereby rendering our thinking. i flung off my goggles, swim cap, wetsuit, and then put on my clothes and shoes. my brain apparently forgot how to tie shoes and my fingers were all slow and deliberate, and i was laughing deliriously. mare ran up and started her transition while matt took pictures and i drank some water. "it tastes so sweet [after ingesting saltwater]!" i deliriously shouted to mary, as she deliriously took it from me. ahhhhh, sweet, sweet nectar... matt took some good pictures of the goofballs, and we were off and running with our bikes. we hopped on our bikes once we were out of the transition area and past a chalk line that said, "BIKE MOUNT LINE".

THE BIKE: mare and i went sailing away on our bikes, feeling strong and happy to be out of the water. we were supposed to keep 2 bike lengths of a distance between us (single-file, that is), but we snuck sometimes (when the path was wide or when there weren't many people behind us) and rode together. people commented on our matching shirts-yay! perfect red under armour shirts, for those of you who don't know! one thing about the biking was that people on road bikes were much faster and went flying around us. and we were in our highest gears and couldn't pedal any faster. we circled around this island and then cut through sea world's parking lot. a lady passed us on a turn and then flipped head-first over a curb at the next turn. i screamed-because it looked horrible-- and mare and i slowed way down and yelled, "are you okay?" she looked dazed but said she was alright, so we kept on going. then the end was in sight. we dismounted and ran on our noodle legs toward our bike rack. i heard a crash and turned around to see a wreck of 4 bikes at the dismount line we had just passed.

TRANSITION #2: still running on noodle legs, we ran our bikes back to the rack and i was all confused when i saw that someone had put their bike on top of mine and mare's spot. it only took a few seconds for me to problem solve, though, and we threw our helmets down, grabbed an energy gel and a water and were off and running!

THE RUN: man, we had been dreading this leg of the race when we had talked about it in preparation, but it turned out to be the best leg of the race for both of us. yay! mare said it best, "it feels good to have normal, natural body movement again". this time, WE actually were the ones doing most of the passing and just got into a great flow and rhythm. we passed mile marker #1 and both felt pretty good. we kept on running and looking for mile marker #2 but never saw it. mare remembered that when we reached the top of the bridge we would have less than 1/2 mile left and all of the sudden we were at the base of it. mare led us up the bridge in the passing lane and we probably passed 30-40 people on that deal--YES! when we reached the bottom we could see the tents and the crowds of people up ahead. another few minutes and we saw matt, with his camera and backpack chair in tow. people were yelling and screaming and these guys were telling us to "pick up the pace, last 100 yards!!!" so we did!

THE FINISH: we picked it up, and did a 100 yard stride into the finish line, which we crossed together. the guy who was yelling people's names into the microphone at the finish line yelled in his funny announcer voice, "what's this? i'm seeing double! it's tracey and mary edwards!" we started laughing deliriously again and tried to give each other high fives but missed and laughed even harder and dizzily tried not to fall down as we walked down the chute and gave people our numbers and timing chips. matt was waiting for us there. ahhhh, bliss and success and adrenaline and thank you Lord!

after free food and jamba juice smoothies and lip balm and other free wierd stuff, we came home. mary and i jumped in the hot tub and relived all the fun moments of the race as we soaked our muscles.

now mare and matt are out surfing it up in encinitas with joel and the andys. matt made me (and i decided, too...) stay home because i really am not well. so i'm here resting and feeling like it is 7 at night because this day seems so long! when they get home we will all get into the steaming hot jacuzzi with maybe a drink.

all in all, fantastic day! we'll definitely do another triathlon again someday--it was so much fun and it went by so fast. and maybe the muddy buddy race at the end of the month--see mary's blog for a link!

welp, i'm out.

"i beat my body and make it my slave..."
-I corinthians 9:27a

happy birthday hannah baby!!!!!

we had a great visit with mom and dad edwards this past week. we went to santa monica, saw the padres play, checked out matt's office, hiked a little at torrey pines, made flavored martinis, went shopping everywhere, and ate, ate, ate!!! mom and dad spoiled us with so many great meals that i think we're each 5 pounds heavier! they also surprised me with an early birthday present last night--a trip to OB surf shops to get my very own board!!!! yes!!! it is a very cool, 7' 4" board, aqua-blue with a couple of white stripes. it's all waxed up and i'm ready to get on it!!!!!

unfortunately, last night i started to feel unnaturally tired and woke up at 3am with symptoms of a sinus infection. noooooooooooooooooooooooooooo! i finally dozed off again around 5am and slept restlessly until 7:30am. normally, i would have sucked it up and gone into work feeling bad, but we have been training for so long for this triathlon, and i HAVE to be healthy by sunday (and sinus infections can go on forever...). so i called off, went to the chiropractor (who is a straight shooter, which i like, but funnily became all fatherly when he saw how awful i was feeling!), and have been resting and loading up on vitamins, water and soup all day long. my fever finally broke around 4pm, and i've been feeling a little bit better this evening. i pray that my body recovers overnight. i hate when sickness interferes with my life. but this little thing does not even BEGIN to compare with what justin deals with on a daily basis.

welp, i'm headed off to watch scrubs and then enter into a healing sleep.
goodnight!

we just returned from a fantastic show tonight--franz ferdinand was so energetic and fun, i would have paid the $ to see them alone. secret machines were excellent, deathcab was a little boring, which was a disappointment, because i love them. but they were the second band to play and maybe the sound wasn't quite right--they were really cool and humble guys, though. muse was surprisingly entertaining (a tiny bit goth-style with the electronica and odd bass distortion) and very rockin. i probably still won't get their cd, but if anyone loves them, they give a great live show. we left before the yeah yeah yeahs came on, because i hate the atmosphere they bring to a place. so we left on a perfect franz ferdinand-happy-60's ish set-beatles-esque positioning on stage-fun-energy-filled note!!!!

and i agree with dad edwards: it seems we are running a free bed and breakfast! :) we were expecting astevens (and maybe mccann again) for this weekend, but as matt mentioned, they ended up bringing 2 friends we didn't know. they were fine, but it takes energy to entertain and make conversation with people you don't know. i would have rather just had the andys and been able to just chill. we went surfing up in encinitas today. or shall i say, we went to battle the ridiculous undercurrent in encinitas today. i tried to get out past the whitewater, but after fighting for 15 minutes of the strongest ripcurrent i have ever been in, i gave up and just watched the boys as only 1 out of the 4 caught a single wave. darn.

all of the sudden, it feels like fall. this time last week, we were roasting and sweating all day and keeping all the windows and doors open through the night. tonight i had to close everything up-AND WEAR SOCKS!!!-(which is disturbing, since it has been several months since i've had to do that--aside from exercising, of course) because it was actually pretty chilly. i just hope the weather stays nice for the next 2 weeks worth of visitors (mom and dad edwards this weds, mary next friday). plus, it would be nice not to have to wear a wetsuit for a little bit longer, at least.

welp, monday is here again.
i have a busy week ahead of me.
have a good one, everybody!

i practiced my swim to bike transition this morning as i completed 2/3 of a triathlon (mare, it took me about 1 hour 10 minutes with dryoff and driving home-just 1/2 mile-- to get my bike). but hilariously i hopped out of the ymca pool and flung on my shoes and clothes over my wet bathing suit. i wish i could have videotaped that awkwardness, i'm sure the lifeguard was like, "what is she doing?". only 2 weeks until our race! i MUST practice an open water swim before this deal goes down. there are some moms at my school who swim the la jolla cove every saturday, so i will have to do it next saturday morning... mare, did you end up getting us shorts for the triath?

we met joel and elisha and andy mccann up in orange county to see lassie foundation on thursday night. lassie was supposed to play second, at 10:00, which was late as it was. then when we got there the guy at the door told us they had been moved to playing last, like at 11:30. we obviously ended up staying much later than planned but had a fun time with those three.

and tomorrow night we get to see franz ferdinand, secret machines, deathcab, yeah yeah yeahs and someone else. why can't i retain that information? either way, i'm pumped!!! and then the pixies and the thrills on tuesday! then mom and dad edwards come in town on thursday-yay!

justin, i pray for you always.

how we race
all our lives
erased
-secret machines

wow justin...awesome blog.

ahhh... last night matt went to drop jeb and jay off at the airport and i instantly washed the 3 sets of guest sheets and a bunch of towels (you may think i'm efficient, but we've got quite a little bed and breakfast going here-we have to be ready!). so then i went to pilates. when i came home and matt was back and we were just sitting at the computer, listening to the new thrills album and enjoying actually spending some time with each other. it was so nice. five minutes later, our cell phone rings. by the time matt gets upstairs, we have missed the call. but the caller is leaving a message, so he listens to it in a minute. it is jay, saying that all flights have been cancelled out of san diego and they can't get a flight until tomorrow. they're coming back. (sigh)

soooooooooooooooo, i miss my husband!!! i can't wait to see him tonight!

other excitement involved joel coming down from LA on monday to surf with the guys, with plans to return back home that evening. however, things did not go as planned. first of all, poor guy took a wrong turn and what was supposed to be a 2-hour drive turned into a 5-hour drive in LA's rush hour traffic. then, when he finally did arrive, he had been in the water no more than 30 minutes when he took a surfboard to the head and had to go to the emergency room for 9 stitches. needless to say, he decided to crash at our place and mccann stayed another night, too. we had such a good time catching up with those guys!

some good concerts coming up: lassie foundation, the thrills/mars volta, the pixies, and finally eisley and snow patrol.

so baby let's split tonight
i've got a tank full of gas to light
yeah we could drive for miles and miles....
-the thrills

i had my first day of seeing kids all day--it went great!
i think i'm finally getting into the flow of things now that i'm starting my third year with san diego city schools.

i had a great, relaxing weekend. on saturday, i spent all day and evening with my friend claudia and had a great time. on sunday i read a book, got stuff done for work, made some yummy food that matt wouldn't eat if he were here (ceviche, salmon), and spent the morning hiking torrey pines and praying and changing and being renewed!

some quick personal notes:
i think ryan wins the prize for hugest blog slacker....
michelle, i do hope you videotape hannah's first cake experience! i, too, hope she takes a face-first dive into that thing!!!!
mare, i like that OTR song, too. of all their albums, though, that one has been the most difficult for me to get into (maybe too country for me?)
edwards family- yay! i'm glad you were able to visit with heidi--i can imagine her excitement and it makes me laugh.

jeb and jay are still here. andy mccann came down here last night and will stay through this evening (and will maybe come back next weekend with astevens).
they're all out surfing right now. soooooo tempting for me to tag along on that one, but they're sharing boards as it is, and i really needed to take a bike ride anyways. maybe matt and i will hit the surf on weds or thurs after work when we finally get some alone time! :)

welp, at the risk of being made fun of by matt, i have to go to a fitball class. (it's pilates with a big exercise ball. matt misheard me the first time i said it and he thought i said, "football" and thinks it is hilarious. but who cares about that? i'm getting shtrong!!!!
byebye!

more visitors here now...
jeb and jay came into town on weds and leave tues night.
matt went to LA with them tonight to visit our friend andy mccann. they'll go to vegas for a night tomorrow.
so i'm reading books and getting together with some girlfriends this weekend. yay!
and trying to do some cram training for the triathlon.
yes, mare, i can relate to the slacking, but when i looked at my training schedule on sunday and realized that we only had one month left to train, i actually got into gear! i swam twice this week (yes, twice!), biked and ran 3 times each. even today, when i was exhausted after work. my friend sabrina was supposed to run with me but couldn't. therefore, i decided to be lazy. but as i was leaving she said, "are you running today?" and i said, "i'm so tired and it's so humid." and she said, "yeah, but you know that if you do run, you'll feel so much better." so i walked all the way down to my car and was putting my things in my trunk when i made a deal with myself: just go back up to school, put on your running clothes and shoes, and you can at least take a walk. so i did that, and by the time i walked down the hill to the ocean, walking seemed like it was going to take too long and suddenly i felt like running--hooray! sorry if this is boring but if anyone else is a runner, you can appreciate the psychology of running that just took place there!
needless to say, i need to be hardcore training for these next 3 weeks. mare, you'll be fine. you're a natural athlete--you could never train at all and still outperform half of the people in that triath!

this weekend i will also try to catch up on my guestbook. my friend amanda henry made me a cool guestbook out of a regular journal that she decorated with colorful grograin ribbon and beach-type decorations. so i've been recording visitors names and dates and throwing in a few pictures as well.

oh yeah--we saw "napoleon dynamite" the other day and i loved it. very funny and quirky. and i don't care if "anybody" could have made it. "anybody" didn't. those two guys did. and they did a hilarious job. i keep thinking of different things and laughing at inappropriate moments throughout my day. and the music was great and used at just the right places. i will for sure be going to see that again! teri sayre, if you still read this blog, you and mike would love it--go see it!

p.s. anyone who had ridiculous encounter with our phone, please know that i just purchased a new one and you should be able to get through/not get cut off/be able to leave a message, etc. so now you can sleep nights knowing that. and matt and i will be able to make calls without wanting to throw the phone across the room :)

happy birthday mom good!!!!

happy birthday dad edwards!!!

september already, people?!!!!
yes, it's true. it's september.
summer is over and school has begun...
more on that later, though.

ryan, michelle, and hannah left us around noon today. it was fun to wake up every morning and see a happy, warm, baldy baby sitting in my living room. i'll miss that peanut!!! we all had such a good time together, aside from ryan spraining his ankle on their 2nd day here--i can't believe how huge and swollen that thing still was even today! poor guy! he was such a tramp about it. yes, i said tramp. apparently, it is what michelle accidentally called hannah, when she couldn't decide whether to say "trooper" or "champ". ha! anyhoo, highlights included: surfing in encinitas, a campfire on the beach, a visit to the corvette diner, playing catan (michelle won once and matt won for his very first time ever--he is now the reigning lord of catan!), taking drinks and the baby monitor out to the hot tub after hannah went to bed, and, of course, THE PRICE IS RIGHT!!!!

yes! after our 3rd attempt to get into the studio audience, michelle and i finally did it!!! what a great feeling! we arrived in hollywood at midnight and there were already about 20 people in line, so we camped out with them. michelle had brought a portable dvd player and we watched the movie "lucky seven" (which just so happens to be the name of our favorite price is right game--which we were convinced one of us was going to play when we were called to "come on down") and made friends with our neighbors. we managed to get about an hour of sleep that night, amidst the people who were loudly talking all night and the traffic that drove by constantly. also, at some point in the night someone spotted a rat in the bushes behind us and my dreams were filled with rats pulling on my hair and climbing on me. all night michelle and i speculated who was going to get chosen. i thought she was and she thought i was--ha! we just knew our bright orange shirts (that said "pick me bob--my middle name is plinko" and "pick me bob-my dog has been neutered") were the ticket to get us up on stage....

we were finally allowed through the gates and into the first waiting area at 6:30 am. and we didn't feel like sitting down right away (or cramming with everyone else on the same bench), and apparently this was a problem, because people began to panic and freak out and ask us what we were doing!!! the girls who camped out next to us decided to try to make us follow the rules for the next 7 hours. this involved telling us where to sit every time we got back from going to the bathroom, to get something to eat, etc. it became highly annoying. i'm not even kidding when i say that people went into panic mode, too. i can't explain the wierdness of these people, but they were ultra concerned about whether michelle and i were following "rules". it may have been more annoying to us than normal because of the early hour and lack of sleep, i'm thinking. we did also have fun conversations with the people on the other side of us, who were from florida and were former teachers.

and then, ahhhhhhhh....... the moment we had been waiting for (after 2 years of trying to get on the show and 20-some years of dying to meet bob barker)...... we were inside the price is right studio!!!! it was so exciting!!!! it was smaller than i expected it to be, and very colorful and 60s-ish. michelle and i had seats in the second row!!!!! yes!!!! bob barker came out and started talking with the audience and making jokes--that guy is funny and actually a very nice man. some lady had made him a needlepoint hot air balloon and he sweetly said, "this is perfect for this place!" i think maybe because it was rainbow colored and so is the studio. and he was sharp and quick with witty comments. i was impressed, needless to say--the man is 80 years old!!!

then the taping started and we were screaming our heads off and applauding like it was our job! the contestants were called: and not us. so sad. but guess who did get on? one of the girls who made us follow rules for the previous 7 hours. what are the chances? and what were the chances of her making the first correct bid and winning a kayak, which i wanted? and what were the chances of her getting to play "lucky seven", our game? and what were the chances of her winning a new car? chances would be slim, you might say. but you would be wrong, because that is exactly what happened. needless to say, michelle and i were sore losers on that one. but it turned out that out of the 325 people in the studio, 4 of the 8 contestants picked were the first 20 in line with us. so it was really fun to cheer for those people because they were our brand new friends!!!

then it was time for the showcase showdown--ha! it feels funny to actually type those two words on my blog!!!! we knew the lady (billie) who was in the showcase showdown, and there was the obligatory military guy up there as well. i was determined to get on tv, and more importantly, on the price is right STAGE!!!! so i said to michelle, "no matter who wins, we're running up on stage to celebrate with them!!!" michelle (after being hounded by rule-followers all day long) was not so sure about this plan. however, i was determined. and when billie won, her whole group of red-shirted people ran on stage. when the last person ran by our row, i started pushing michelle out into the aisle. "i'm not going first,you go first," she yelled and then pushed me in front of her. i was laughing gleefully as i ran up the steps to the stage when i got apprehended by a bouncer, who clotheslined me at leg level. "you're not with that group," he said. i continued to laugh as michelle continued to push me (up the stairs, she thought) onto the man. he wouldn't budge, so i gave up. i kept laughing deliriously as i jumped off the steps and we went back to our seats. darn. but it was really fun trying!

so we finally made it to the price is right. the only rub was that we weren't called to come on down, but there's always next year (come on ryan, i can see you rolling your eyes from here!!!!!).

so there are the highlights of that surreal day!
i'm going now. i'm hungry.

oh yeah. school started last tuesday. :(
i get kids this tuesday. :)

last night i saw matt carrying a baby car seat and it was wierd, in a funny and good way.
those things always look heavy and uncomfortable to carry around, don't they?

justin, matt and i are praying for you. i was laughing so hard at your young person's railcard photo.

mom edwards, i meant to thank you for the fun batik quilt that you sent with mary--i love how bright and cheerful it is!

yay--we're going to have so much fun this thanksgiving. mary found us a great cabin in lake arrowhead for sitting around the fire, drinking hot chocolate (and smoothies and grasshoppers and mudslides and vanilla coffee), reading, refelecting, and my favorite, playing cards and board games loudly!!!
(speaking of which, i know i have a loud voice, especially when i am excited or having fun, or just being emo, but i just had a funny encounter with a lady whose voice became progressively quieter as we were talking. when she got down to a loudish whisper, i realized she was sending me a message that my own voice was much to loud. i tried to quiet it down, but it felt so unnatural, i couldn't do it! what can i say? i'm irish. we've got big mouths!)

we went to see "garden state" tonight, with the lead guy from scrubs. it was rushmore-like and very good. sort of a serious tone, but with well placed humor and fun random details. plus, great characters, especially the police officer. i was impressed to learn that the scrubs guy wrote the script and directed it. in addition to that, it had a fantastic soundtrack: the shins (three times), postal service, art garfunkel, and some acoustic stuff that sounded a lot like denison witmer).

i went in to school today to drop off some prizes and books that i've been accumulating this summer and met my new principal. instantly i picked up that she's a rule-follower. uh oh. looks like i'm going to have to suck it up or it could be a difficult year for moi. at least i have a little while to prepare for a new mindset. i've been flying sort of under the radar for the past two years, which is when i do my best work. but this lady seems like she likes to have her hands in everything, which could potentially create a situation that is not quite ideal for me. oh well--who moved my cheese??? :)

welp, that's it for now, and proabably for awhile. ry, michelle and hannah come tomorrow and i start school on august 31st.
have a good one, everybody!

i think this is probably my last day of sleeping in (9:30-yay!), since i want to get my body ready for getting up early for school.
today is a day of recovery--it's been a full weekend, with not much rest.

yesterday we had our friend desiree's amazing race and it was so much fun!!!
mare asked me to blog about it, so here are some details...
some of the places we went that had meaning to her were her vet's office (she has a dog and has had some funny experiences there. the people who work there are funny, too. when i went in to ask them if they would give her a clue when she showed up, they asked if they could make her complete a task before they gave it to her. like what, you may wonder? scooping poop!-ha!). then we sent her to belmont park, a mini-amusement park in pacific beach, where she had to ride the roller coaster and take a picture of herself at the top! then we made her go to wahoo's and complete a detour. a detour is where a team must choose between one of two tasks. and at wahoo's, it was EAT or BE EATEN. team members had to either order their favorite meal, eat it, and enjoy it thoroughly; OR find a nearby werewolf to eat them. guess what everyone chose... yum! after that we all were groggy and fat and full, but des had to complete a customized crossword puzzle to get her next clue, which led her to her favorite candy shop in downtown san diego, the sweet factory. she then assembled a tribal council of gummi bears, which we all devoured, even though we were complaining (not two minutes before) about how full we were! i got kicked out for videotaping inside the store--yeah, i'm opening my own candy shop soon, i was just going there for ideas! the next clue led her to her former place of employment, SCANTRON. there, we had previously placed 3 pictures of herself in a guy's cubicle (he liked her in a "more than friends" way, and she did not return the feelings). she had to remove the pictures from his cubicle, and get a snack from the fridge (coke and cheese) before getting her final clue. we ended up in ocean beach, where we all collapsed! the prize was not one million dollars, unfortunately, but it was some money towards a plane ticket back to san diego someday.

matt has free tickets to the padres game today, and they look like they might be pretty good seats, so we're going to check it out! and maybe not for the whole game, though--it's so nice out today. i pray that this weather stays for ryan and michelle's visit. (my poor parents--it was partly cloudy nearly every day they were here! they actually didn't seem to mind, though).

I'm getting excited for big bear at thanksgiving! thank you mary, for doing all that research!

well, i must take a bike ride before matt and i get going.
farewell!

thanks, mom and dad edwards, for the fun round teapot set! now i need to make (and serve!) some tea!
matt and i went to another free concert with our friends last night. this band is called "flock of 80s", and they play all 80s music. we saw them at octoberfest here last year and they were so fantastic! so they were playing in pacific beach last night so of course we couldn't miss it. most of the time we were the only ones on the dance floor--but it was so much fun! lots of the cure, modern english, a-ha, U2, men without hats---really good 80s music.

i helped our friend desiree move all of her stuff into a uhaul today. she hardly had anything--it literally took 4 of us 10 minutes to load up the van. i remember when matt and i moved out here we fit all of our belongings into an 8 (length)x5 (width)x10 (height) foot space. and i was impressed with that!!! but now that we live in a bigger place, of course we have filled it with things! we couldn't pull that off again!

so, this weekend will be very fun but a little bit sad, since des is moving. we have plans for friday night and all day saturday. saturday, we have a day filled with her favorite things. her favorite tv show is "amazing race", so i've created a fun scavenger hunt (amazing race-style) all around san diego, where she has to complete different tasks to get clues to the next place. all the places have meaning for her so it should be a fun way of getting in some memories without getting too emo!

in the meantime, i'm looking forward to seeing ryan, michelle, and hannah banana in exactly one week from today!!! yay!
welp folks, i'm outta here!

when summer started, i had a list of things that i wanted to get done before school started. as of sunday, none of it was done! so i spent yesterday and today taking care of things with the car, going through closets and organizing, getting retirement/investment things taken care of, creating a new budget, planning a going away party for our friend desiree, and returning calls and emails of faraway friends. whew! i think one more day of this and i'll have everything completed on my list! pretty impressive, eh?

matt and i went to see a free lassie foundation show last night up in orange county at this bar called the "detroit bar". hearing the name alone made me sort of nervous, but it ended up being in a nice area and the actual interior was very cool. mare, you would have loved it--all cool 60's "down with love"-type decorations and tv screens and sitting areas. it was a fantastic show and worth the drive. plus, the drive was actually fun. you know the feeling you have when it is night time and you're starting out on a road trip and the stars are out and the air is cool and everything smells fresh and new? that's what it felt like.
it made us want to take a real road trip...

matt is dealing with the aftermath of my organization--meaning, he has to sort through his stuff now.
i am a tosser or donater. this means if i haven't worn or used something in 6-12 months, and don't intend to wear or use it again, OR if it is taking up space and cluttering the house, it goes to goodwill or in the trash. matt is a saver. this means we have large collections of magazines that have been looked at once and then put away because "someday" he may want to read it again. additionally, it means he easily has 3x as many clothes as i do. and this is not an exaggeration. when we were first married, i made the mistake of throwing out some things that i knew weren't being used and would probably never be used again. apparently, i had discarded something precious to my poor husband (whoops!). therefore, i remain a tosser/donater with my own stuff, and encourage him to do the same--but i never toss his stuff. i learned that lesson the hard way! so blog poll: who is a saver, and who is a tosser/donater, and who is conflicted? ha! i can predict who is who, but i want to know how you perceive yourselves!!!!

a song you all should check out is "nearer than heaven" by the delays. i happened to be listening to it when i was looking at my friend's pictures of breaching whales she saw in baja mexico--amazing. i think i like the song even more because of the images it provokes now.

mom edwards, i'm so glad you feel at peace with your decision!
welp, i'm off to help matt (or read a book, whichever is actually more helpful to him:)

peaceful days over broken waves...
...look inside the ocean
-lassie foundation

whoa.
it's been almost 2 weeks since i've blogged.
welp, i'm back.
we just had a really fun week with mom and dad good. highlights included (but are not limited to...): the field, coronado beach, walks in the morning and sunsets in the evening on sunset cliffs, surfing/beaching in encinitas (matt and i surfed, mom and dad watched-and dad marinated out in the ocean), a spontaneous pedicure-ahhhh...., farmer's market (they bought me some raspberry mango jam-yum!) and sea world (really fantastic shamu and dolphin shows). we had such a great time and just got back from dropping them off at the airport.
we have a week and a half to recover and then ry, michelle, and hannah come. then 4 days later jeb and jay come, then a couple weeks after that mom and dad edwards come. whew! it's been a busy summer, that's for sure. we still need to find time to take a vacation for ourselves. although i don't think that's going to happen now that matt has his new job and i go back to work on aug. 31st. oh well, we live in a vacation spot-can't really complain! maybe we'll do a long weekend somewhere in the fall...

tickets for the price is right arrived the other day!!!! yes!!!!
michelle and i will get on for sure this time! i think we're buying some cheap chairs at the dollar store, getting in line around midnight or so (maybe we'll be the first ones in line!), and waiting all night until 7:30, when the doors open and we get interviewed to be on the show!!!! this is our third (AND FINAL) attempt to get on the price is right. we will be VICTORIOUS!!!

wow. i'm really tired. i think matt has the right idea about taking a nap this afternoon. i'm going to join him. nighty-night!

rock stars!!!!
yes, people, that is what we were last night!
it was so much fun--everyone went all out in their costumes and were easy to identify (except for one girl, who was from siouxie and the banshees, which only matt guessed correctly---of course---so she didn't have to buy any drinks or do any embarrassing thing in public)! we also had sonny and cher, billy idol, the blues brothers, coolio, and matt and i were billy ray cyrus and cyndi lauper. when we went out, people were so into us. everyone laughed at us (especially matt with his mullet and eddie--who normally has a totally shaved head--in his sonny outfit) and chatted with us. it was really fun to be someone who was recognizable because people would say, "hey cyndi!!!" as i walked by. to commemorate this evening, matt and i will make a cd including at least one song from each person's character!

matt and i had a cookout planned for the two of us on the beach today. he's still sleeping, though. and it's cloudy. therefore, i won't wake him up until the sun comes out. which is fine because i need to do some laundry and get the guest room ready for mary and casey's visit on wednesday. mare, we'll get the padres tickets for friday--and real seats are totally fine--any preference of section? i can't wait to see bo at dog beach!!!!!! we have to be subtle with him at our place, though, because we're really not allowed to have him here. but there's a great place for him to run in the field behind our place and also a fenced in dog run just across the street, if he still requires physical boundaries :)

about "the village":
you guys all have me excited about it now.
but, justin--would it be too scary for me? remember after we watched "stir of echos"? it was nice to have you telling me when a freaky part was coming in "the sixth sense", too (which i really liked).
also, my friend from junior high, judy (evans) greer was in it. she was the blondish chick who was also in the wedding planner, adaptation, and also recently played the secretary on arrested development. just a fun fact!

and anyone who wants to have a baby someday should read michelle's blog, about that hannah peanut being able to communicate through sign language before she can use actual words! thye use an awesomely created program by a speech therapist designed so that normal-ha! people can teach their babies how to use simple signs to communicate (called babysign). babies can learn gestures typically before they learn to speak and if you teach them a few signs before they start talking, research has shown that they will typically say their first words earlier, and have a much larger expressive vocabulary (even at ages 2 and 3) than babies who have not been exposed to sign language. plus, michelle and ryan know what she wants and don't have to guess why she is crying (if it even gets to that point, which it usually doesn't). it's something i've always planned to do with my babies and it is so fun to see ryan and michelle doing it with hannah and seeing it work so well. it was also awesome to be in home (cincy/ky) when she learned "milk" and "all done"--you can literally see her little brain working--so amazing! the best was when grammy was feeding hannah a bottle and the entire time she was just laying there, all relaxed, except for her tiny fat hand signing "milk" the whole time she was drinking! well that's enough auntie tracey talk from me!

but my hand was made strong by the hand of the Almighty...
-bob marley

yes, michelle, i was so excited to hear that hannah is saying "up"!!! (matt actually was, too). i can NOT wait to see that banana in august!!!! and even a 2-word sign---doing "more book" (which i bet she did :)--when i read about that sweet baby, i actually squealed and clapped in our guest bedroom here--what a nerd auntie i am!!!

i actually got up with matt this morning and took him to the train station, since i had to take the jetta in for service. yikes! what a sleep head i have become this summer. i usually am up by 7:30 or 8:00 every day, but i'm going to have to start training my body to get up at 6:00 again, since my first teacher day is august 31st. but let 's not talk about that right now!

did matt or i mention that we're having a rock star party with our friends on saturday? we're all dressing up as rock/pop stars and getting together at a couple's house, having some food and drinks, taking plenty o' pictures, and then going out into public!!!! we'll probably go to pacific beach, because there are some fun places to dance there. our costumes are supposed to be kept secret until the actual party. and if no one can guess who you are, there is going to be some sort of penalty such as buying everyone else drinks or having to do something embarrassing in public. no one from the party reads my blog, so i'll tell you all about my costume: cyndi lauper. because girls just wanna have fun! i have a perfect strapless, teal, fluffy, 80s dress to wear. along with fishnet stockings, red 80s pumps, giant earrings, loads of bracelets, and wild makeup. yes! the only thing i haven't worked out is how to get the orange hair. it will be either by buying orange hairspray or maybe even a wig. i'll let matt tell you about his own costume--his will be hilarious!

mare, speaking of triathlon training, i need to get up and go swimming tomorrow morning. i've been a huge slacker on the swimming portion of my training, i must say. i'm averaging about one practice/week. thankfully, the swimming part of the race is not that long. maybe if i swim tomorrow morning my reward can be surfing later on. i think yes on that self-discipline reward. i bet the new michelle can relate to this bargaining going on in my head and on my blog! one thing motivating about going swimming is the lifeguard who sings at the top of her lungs (off key, by the way) to bad whitney houston songs. that, alone, is both entertainment and motivation to get moving!

can't wait to see england/scotland pictures from edwards family members!!!!!
the weekend is almost here-yay!

i don't believe something like living for myself...
-denison witmer

amazing surf sessions two days in a row....
perfect weather, perfect waves--3-4 feet and glistening (except for some 5-7 footers, with which i was quite uncomfortable).
harr and i went up to enicinitas to surf yesterday--he did pretty great for his first time. we were exhausted and starving by the end and then met up with matt and we all went to the padres game, which was fun! and then on for a drink at the W outdoor beach bar. i was supposed to take harr to the train station at 10:00 today, but when i went to wake him up he reported that he was going to be able to stay until the afternoon. therefore, we naturally decided to have a repeat of yesterday. first stop: subway (which we took down to the beach and ate at our outdoor restaurant called the beach!), second stop: ocean waves--oh my, so perfectly formed and spaced!, third stop: collapsing on my towel on the sand, and then repeat stops 2 and 3 several times. the last time i went out i got pounded by some 6-7 footers, including one that flipped me under the board. the fin ended up scraping the back of my thighs, which are now swollen and bruised. ouch. i guess i'll take a break for a little while.
oops, sorry to cut this short but the amazing race is on--i must go!

happy birthday mary (a little late!)!!!

i love reading the blogs of the people who are in england and scotland right now--it sounds so fun!

harr is in town visiting with us. he arrived on thurs and will stay until tues. we've been having a fun time eating, going to the beach, shopping, etc. i just dropped matt and harr off downtown for a boys night out at the cigar bar or something. last night we went to the del mar race track, which was really impressive. very clean, beautiful, and there were two ponds and palm trees in the middle of the grassy area of the race track. we got there in time to see 4 of the races. i bet on 3 of the races and won each time!!!!! yay!!!! it ended up being $15 total, because i was only placing $1 or $2 bets. but still, it was so much fun to yell and cheer on my horses and then to celebrate when they won!!!! :) after the races, jet played a concert outside the stadium structure. matt gives a funny account of the action where he was in his blog. my friend sue and i scooted our way up to the front of the crowd and danced and made new friends :). they gave a great live performance, too.

today was so gray and gloomy. it figures now that we have a visitor in town the weather would act ridiculous!

matt and i bought the sealab dvd, which is hilarious---we laughed so hard!

welp, i'm all sleepy so i'm going to try to take a little nap before i have to go pick the boys up...nighty night!

it's wednesday.
i have to keep reminding myself of what day it is now that i'm not working.
and i'm always surprised when i hear the actual date--what? july 21st??
how did the time go so fast?

here are how most of my days go now:
7:00 or 8:00 wake up
8:00 or 9:00- 11:00 run, swim, bike, fitball, pilates, or yoga (or any combination of those activities)
11:00-12:00- come home and eat lunch and do a few little chores
12:00-4:00 beach (read, drink water, pray, look at the ocean, and thank God for my wonderful life)
4:00-5:00 get pretty for my husband
5:00 matt comes home
and now this schedule is getting ridiculous so i'm going to stop!!!!

harr comes in town tomorrow and we have a full long weekend planned with him.
friday night we're going to the del mar race track (we wish gramps and dad good could come--they would love it)
and then jet is playing a show there after the races are over. not bad for $2.50, eh?
we'll get a padres game in there at some point and then the usual tourist/beach/restaurant deal....

after he leaves, mary and casey arrive a few days later and then mom and dad good come in town a few days after that! yay!
i love summer!

deep calls to deep
in the roar of Your waterfalls;
all Your waves and breakers
have swept over me
-psalm 42:7

get swept away with God

matt andi loaded up the car last night so we'd be ready to hit the beach first thing this morning. all we have to do is throw the surfboard on top of the car and food and drinks in the cooler, and we'll be off!
it has been really hot for the past few days, a "heat wave", the news stations claim! so we're escaping by going to the beach. along with a ton of other people, i'm sure! but we'll be in encinitas, the least busy beach of all.

mom edwards, good job on your walking! mary and i have found that if you have a training program with a goal at the end it is very motivating.
here is a sample of one: http://www.halhigdon.com/10ktraining/10kwalk.htm
this guy also has a schedule for completing a 5k, but it seems like you've already been doing a decent amount of walking, you might want to do the 10k training program. and maybe if we do thanksgiving here, you can join in with me and mare and dad and walk the thanksgiving day race! don't forget to do a little bit of cross training 1-2x/week, like biking, so you can give your walking muscles a rest and work some other muscles.

my visit with "the running doctor" (heehee) went well. i'm getting orthotics, which i had when i first started getting injured in high school. where did those things go, i wonder? i went in for a consultation-just to see if he could do anything for me- and all of the sudden he's adjusting my feet, ankles, knees, and hips-whoa. the best thing is, if the orthotics (which are expensive) don't work, he takes them back and we try another kind (free of charge) until we find some that do work! yay! mare, i won't slow us down in the running portion of this race!

last night we watched "shattered glass"-very good movie. plus, it had paul giamatti in it, who i love. and also the softspoken bald guy from high fidelity and jerry macguire (the babysitter).

matt's taking me out on a date tonight so i can wear those great sandals i bought! ha!
welp, time to head out, matt is stirring. have a great weekend everyone!

yum, lobster tacos $1.50!
that's where we went last night---well, we didn't go to a place called lobster tacos. actually, i forget what the place is called, even though i've been there several times. anyhoo, it's on the ocean, so you get a great view and great food and lots of laughing with great friends.

i have felt wierd for the past couple of days now. not sick (i haven't been sick for 3 years now!!!!!, besides a cold last superbowl, and i don't really count colds because you don't miss anything with a cold). anyways, it seems that through all my ordeals starting 6 years ago (strep, sinus infections) and working with kids for so long, my immune system is finally built up. so i just fight things now, i just get a half of a cough, or congestion for a day or two, but i don't ever feel bad in my body. same deal with right now. and i still worked out for awhile today.

by the way, i tried yoga.
which is awesome!
they have this non-new-age yoga at the ymca and i couldn't believe how hard it was!
i thought yoga was just simple positions (with odd names) that you hold.
which is, i guess, true to some extent. however, the stretches are difficult and actually build muscle because you end up holding them for so long. i felt exhausted and great after the class! everyone should try that if you can find a yoga that is not too creepy... :)

tomorrow i have a free consultation with "the running doctor" (mary, do you remember that literature from the marathon?). ha! it is actually a chiropractor who specializes in running injuries--how perfect is that? we'll see if he can do anything for my legs!

i'm excited to hear that mom and dad edwards may be coming out in sept for a long weekend!

welp, matt has a happy hour thing at work today so i think i'll go ride my bike, seeing as he won't be home for awhile!
have a great friday everyone!

i woke up this morning and decided to take full advantage of my ymca membership today. i went to an 8:00 pilates class--and i'm just now starting to feel sore throughout my ab/torso area. not a good sign for the next few days... then i made an appointment with a fitness trainer (i get one hour of free training with my membership) for a couple hours later. since i had some time to kill, i did some laundry, cleaned up the place, took a walk--the sun was out early today-yes! then i went for my personal training, which was basically a weight training program, since i prefer to do the cardio outside. i just can't see getting on an exercycle (or treadmill, etc.) when the weather is beautiful and there are a million beautiful places i could ride a REAL bike (or run/walk on REAL legs, er, REAL ground-heehee)! then i came home and decided to go for a run. ha! apparently, since i've been an exercise slacker for the past week, i decided to make up everything i've missed in one day!!! :) and all this before lunch! so then i went to the beach for 3 hours--i think it was deserved, don't you?

our next visitor is mike harr, from BG, in a week and a half... visitors are pretty well spaced out this summer. well, that is, unless people do some impromptu visiting, which is fine as well... :)

i got this great new pair of sandals at target so i made matt promise to take me out on a date this weekend so i can wear them.
speaking of target, matt and i are headed there in a few minutes, so i must get going!
have a great week everyone.

p.s. i'm on another modest mouse kick again. it reminds me of staying in austin with justin, when mary and i took over his apartment and his life. "justin, can we do (fill in the blank)?" "justin, can we go (fill in the blank)?" "justin, can we...?" poor guy. the two of us never stopped talking or asking him if we could do things!

i had a fun time with amanda henry and her 2 friends. great catching up and showing them around san diego. i actually got to see the "real world-san diego" house for the first time, since they wanted to see it-ha! it really is huge, i must say. we ate at a great italian restaurant and i showed them around OB, la jolla, and downtown. very fun time!

man, justin, i wish i could have seen denison witmer live---i'm so glad to hear he is fantastic live! someday i'll see him...
i feel like we were seeing live music almost every weekend there for awhile and now it has slowed down. well, for me at least. matt had his nerdfest-er, i mean, rush concert--earlier this week. the next thing on the list is jet. we'll be seeing them for free at the del mar racetrack--2 fun events in one. and then for an epic pixies reunion later in september. it will be so fun to see the band that i loved as a junior high school student, and a band that was influential in so many bands today.

matt and i had a perfect day today.
we went up to encinitas and hung out by the ocean, took a long walk on the shore, played aerobie, ate a pizza, and read good books.
ahhh.....

tomorrow i'll get some household stuff done, hopefully get to the beach, and get back on my training program---huge slacker over here!!!!! oh well, my body is in decent enough shape and it is early enough in the program that i'll be okay. i wouldn't want to be pulling this in a couple of months, though!


it's a beautiful day
-U2

it's thursday and i'm waiting for my friend/(family, really) amanda henry to get into town.
more visitors and me still without my guestbook done. dang! i keep setting goals to have it ready by the time the next guest comes, but i keep forgetting or other things come up, etc. etc....

but i'm making a light dinner, since i don't really know when they'll arrive. then we'll probably go out to pacific beach or downtown later this evening. they'll be heading to the zoo tomorrow but i'll meet up with them later for some possible beach time and dinner.

it's fun to catch up with family and faraway friendsand it seems like it happens all at once.
of course i was visiting with the peeps back home for a nice long time and then i got to have a nice long chat with emily the other night!
i do miss the entire edwards clan, as well!
mare, i need to talk to you--i'll probably call in the next couple of days.
i was doing so well with my training but i have now become a slacker, due to a bunch of reasons that i don't feel are real excuses.
time to get back on the plan tomorrow!

michelle--nice job on the new you! i KNOW YOU CAN DO IT!!!!!!

welp, i must finish cleaning this place up.
have a great weekend everyone!