Saturday, February 14, 2004

happy valentine's day everyone!!!

ah, saturday morning after a friday off!
it feels so good!
nevermind that i've woken up at 6:45 (the exact time my alarm goes off on weekdays) today and yesterday.
welcome to the world of being an adult, eh?
it's not that i don't get enough sleep when i get up this early, it's just sort of depressing---you know, saying goodbye to an era (of consistent staying up late, sleeping in late, being younger).

i'm listening to belle and sebastian and getting partly excited for coachella music festival (and partly not, because what if matt doesn't have a job by then..) but it would be so great to see ash, deathcab, flaming lips (i need to see what has matt so excited, but i could give or take the actual music--sorry), basement jaxx (just for where's your head at--the ultimate pump up song for me a few years ago), you will know us by the trail of dead, the pixies (of course), the cure (yes!), and belle and sebastian.

but thanks to grandpa's christmas money, that i actually carried around in my purse until now (aren't you proud of me??? 2 months almost, without spending it!), we're going to see the strokes! you can read in matt's blog how the deal went down. it's one of those shows that we would regret missing. like U2, i know we were poor, but i wish we could have scraped together the money somehow to see that epic performance.

i agree with mom edwards, i love hearing about the little everyday things that people are doing-- i love picturing mom making bread in her bread machine, mary sitting at her desk in her classroom with her journal open in front of her, casey chasing after silly bo, mike and justin in the basement recording, dad with headphones in, listening to the bros music. it makes me feel like i don't miss much between the times that we all see each other. when i go home and catch up with family and friends, i'll start telling a story and someone will say, "oh yeah, i read that on your blog." huh? oh. then i don't need to talk....:)

by the way, dad, are you giving any cs lewis talks in ohio/BG/cleveland/or pittsburgh areas anytime in the future (because ken wants to see you talk sometime)? i looked on your website and didn't see any ohio engagements, but--man! you are a famous speaker, eh? nationally and internationally known! when you first started reading cs lewis works, did you ever imagine yourself in this position?

oh yeah, dad! yesterday i got a letter from my grammy, who has a friend who lives in the assisted living home where you spoke at in columbus. apparently, this woman is 90 years old and also an accomplished quilter. grammy told her that mom edwards was also a quilter and the lady said she knew and that she had her picture taken with mom. do you all remember that??? what a fun, small world!

welp, i must be going-- pilates is calling my name!
have a fantastic weekend everyone!


Wednesday, February 11, 2004

hello everyone!
short week this week!
tomorrow is a cake day of a conference, so i get to just RECEIVE instead of giving!
then monday and friday we have off-hooray! this time last year we were on our way up to san fran to hang out with the andys and joel and have one of the most fun weekends of our lives! good memories.

oh michelle-i say ditto to what mary said about tossing/donating the wedding paraphanalia. it sounds like you nearly had yourself convinced anyways. plus, it always helps me when i visualize myself in a few months, a year, etc. down the road. will i miss that item because i have a need to use it? or can i make someone else happy with it (by donating it to charity)? because i buy good stuff, gosh darn it! :) plus, this almost seems like a no-brainer, since you surely already have a picture of your cake-topper (and everything else), if you need the memory of it, you can look at the photo. ooh, it makes me feel so good to think of even other people's clutter going!!!! i'm sick, i know! the end.

after 6 years of my harrassment, matt finally gave in and went to get allergy tested, so we could identify and avoid whatever is causing him to be so miserable. which will be nearly impossible, apparently. poor guy had welts all over his little arms!!! he's allergic to every kind of pollen in nearly every kind of tree, weed, or grass. but apparently by living on the coast we have the best possible location to avoid that, because no allergens blow in off the ocean. the only time it causes problems is if we get a santa ana wind from the desert, which kicks up everything. AND that poor guy is allergic to dust mites, which make him the most miserable. so we're doing the affordable accommodations first: covering mattresses and pillows and stuff with dust mite protectors, and washing bedding/curtains every two weeks. the allergist said that carpets are the worst place for housing dust mites, so we'll eventually get wood floors. but that is in the distant future. michelle and ry, can you believe matt is NOT allergic to dogs? the dr. said he's allergic to whatever dogs bring in from outside and spread inside. either way, the dude said that did not give us permission to get a dog. so i'm sad. but who knows? in a couple of years matt may get miraculously healed and we'll be able to get a pup!

last night i went to my kids' opera production of "rip van winkle". they were so cute and the production was so fantastic! people from the san diego opera came and directed and practiced with them every day for 2 hours. i would have loved to have had something like that when i was a kid. i think the best part was seeing some of the rougher kids or kids who have learning disabilities really get to tap into other gifts and talents that they have. also, i have a student who is a severe stutterer, who was able to participate because his part was all singing (stutterers typically do not stutter at all when they sing).

too much valentine's candy for me! i've been bouncing off the walls all day!
happy valentine's day to everyone! i love you all!
have fun in vegas, mare and casey! and bo!