hello everyone and merry christmas!
i'm finally writing, but you should know it will be a short one because i have to get to work.

lots of things have happened since i last blogged:

1. first of all (and best of all), work got about 100 times better because the speech dept sent another slp to take my worst, most high-profile case (think 4-hour long meetingS, mom cussing us out, screaming, slamming her briefcase on the table, slamming the door, insulting us--constantly--etc.) ahhhhhhhhhhh...such relief! it was taking up so much time and mental space that i just wasn't myself. i feel like myself again!!!!

2. i turned 30! and i'm okay with it! i had a fun birthday celebration that went on and on: lunch at wahoo's with my girlfriends, game night and dinner at a fun little place in pacific beach, a visit with my dear friend heidi in cleveland, wine tasting in temecula, and lots of cards and phone calls from faraway friends and family.

3. i've been working around 20-25 hours a month doing early intervention speech therapy and i love it! it doesn't feel like work and i look forward to going to my client's homes each time. i see 3 little girls, which is really fun-and unusual-because boys outnumber girls 3:1 for speech/language disorders. yay! i have a 17 month-old, a 2-year old, and one girl who will turn 3 in a couple of weeks. at that point, she will be off of my caseload but mom is paying me privately to see their 5 year-old son and may do the same for her little girl if she's not happy with the therapy offered by the school system.

welp, we have a few holiday parties this weekend and then we'll be off to ohio to see loved ones on tuesday (BG first, then cincy, then cleveland). can't wait to see you all!

p.s. hi michelle cho! thanks for your message--i'm so glad you still read this! i miss you and hope to get a picture of your sweet family this christmas! :)

here was what i wrote on nov.6th but had problems posting it, you jerks! ;)

i wasn't going to write until i read michelle's blog about wanting to travel (and retire). i have a response. surprise, surprise!

first of all, God puts desires in our hearts because He wants to fulfill them, including the desire to travel and have leisure time and experience things outside of ourselves. and in response to what you've heard about christian speakers talking about working their entire lives, come on. remember how God has different plans for each person? no lumping everyone into the same category--especially not the category of church leaders--infamous for being used and abused and worn out because of unrealistic and arbitrary rules created by humans.

of course we are supposed to work hard and make a living and be responsible for our families, but God also gave us brains so we could make money and do what we dream of doing (in our vocations AND our avocations)!

so dream on, michelle! and more importantly, plan on!!!

we had a great weekend in vegas-the U2 show was amazing. i have to say the first time we saw them it was better, only because we were so much closer and the crowd control at the MGM was poor and matt and i were both on edge. the set list was fantastic, though and they played "with our without you", which is the first song i really LOVED on the radio when i was in 6th grade (from the album, joshua tree--first album i ever bought (mary, stop laughing!!!

we didn't end up gambling until 1:30 am on saturday night, though. people think (and i used to also) that you only gamble in vegas but not so. we were busy all the night before and all day just walking around, enjoying the amazing casino hotels--there are so many fun things to look at in all these themed places! we stayed at the flamingo, which i thought would be shady, but it was absolutely beautiful and we had a large room (2 queen beds, an air mattress on the floor and still plenty of room to move around. they had a huge courtyard/habitat for different species of birds (including penguins!) with waterfalls and beautiful plants. there were also several pools and even 3 waterslides (waterslides were closed--it is november, after all). so we hung out by the pool all day long and walked around the nice area of vegas quite a bit. when we finally did get around to gambling, i doubled my money and came out $46 ahead!!!! yeah!!! oh my gosh, i had so much fun playing craps. we played for about an hour before we called it quits (i think i was the only one who quit while i was ahead, though). everyone was high-fiving and yelling and we made a bunch of new friends at our table.

we also had a fun "dinner bet", in which everyone in the group takes the amount of money they would spend on dinner ($20/couple) and plays roulette and bets it all on red or all on black. if you win, you double your money and eat a great meal. if you lose, you spend your money and eat at mcdonald's--ha! so we put $60 on black and doubled it!!!! such a great feeling!!!! and we ate very well, indeed.

but we're glad to be out of las vegas. it is fun in small units of time, but the atmosphere of excess gets to you. maybe we'll go next summer when ryan has a conference out there :)

welp, matt ordered pizza and got a movie so we're going to relax and wind down from our long day of driving and go to bed early (7, maybe 8 hours of sleep total this weekend! :) oh well, we won't have energy to do this when we're older, might as well get it in while we can!

we had a wonderful time in fresno with dad edwards this weekend.
i was immersed in cs lewis a few times, who i realize is one of my favorite writers.
every time i read even a quote of his, a feeling comes over me--like listening to a familiar song or a new song from a familiar band... and it's even better to hear dad talking so fluently about him, as if he knows lewis as a personal friend. it was fun to see dad functioning in his gift and passion at his talk at borders and at the church the next day.

i think i'm going to start my birthday/christmas list with some lewis books, actually:
-letters to children
-mere christianity
-surprised by joy

man! i am craving either sushi or wahoo's rice. matt's not home yet, so i guess i'll wait for him (and his vote will be for wahoo's, i'm sure!). either way, i don't think i'm making anything because we have no food in our house! i need to go shopping. i wish i could have been at your tmnt pizza party, justin. yum.

this is going to be a rough week at work (especially friday), so if you think about it, please pray for me.

thanks to mary, i've broken my rule of "no celebrating christmas until november 1st". she just sent me a cd of nat king cole's christmas songs. so naturally i HAD to listen to it to make sure that it worked, and darned if i wasn't listening to the whole thing. twice. and i'm listening to it now. i'm not going hardcore celebrating until a week from now, though. but once halloween is over, i'm all over it!!! i also have a rule of "no setting up the christmas tree until the day after thanksgiving". why these rules, you may ask? because i am out of control!!! and i love christmas so much that i get all christmasy-head all season, and it truthfully drives matt a little bit nuts. i don't think my rules are unfair to either of us!!! heehee!

well, i have to eat a snack, i am ravenous. too ravenous to continue writing, that is!

have a great week everyone!

okay, okay...
mama joan gave me the nudge that i needed to write again! (and realized that i was, in fact, referring to myself as the SOMEone who was slacking!!!! you sillies who thought i was talking about you!)

i guess i thought that i haven't had much to say lately.

but now that i think about it, i suppose some things have been going on. first off, i've been dealing with a very high-profile case at my school and was going to have to testify in court (as an expert witness-ha!-while their attorney would rip apart my credentials--talk about losing sleep and heart palpitations and headaches, etc!--i was a mess) this wednesday, but i received the fantastic news yesterday that they settled out of court!!! hooray!!! but now a new chapter begins with this family. but at least our special education team doesn't have to go to court. ahhhh.... such relief......

we've had some nice, warm summery days lately. but when i woke up this morning, there was the perfect crisp smell of fall in the air. it makes me want to go school clothes shopping!! talk about a pavlovian response!

matt and i also went to virginia beach to see our friend, amanda henry, get married. for those of you who don't know, amanda is my mom's best friend's daughter. and mary henry passed away a few years ago so the wedding was a little bit melancholy in some respects. mary's brother performed the ceremony and said it so perfectly: "the one element missing from this beautiful day is mary henry. and we all miss her." he said a few other things after that, but the first part was so honest and so simple and it acknowleged what everyone in the congregation was feeling.

we also got to meet our new baby nephew, caleb!!! such a cutie looking like his uncle joey (michelle's brother). i held him for a long time and he was so warm and snuggly and sweet!!! and hannah was as talkative and cute as ever! matt and i had such a fantastic time with mom, dad, ryan and michelle, too (but they take the back seat to the cutie babies--sorry guys!). actually, it was one of the most fun receptions because we all danced for hours!!!! ry, michelle, matt and i did a rock circle during "pour some sugar on me", dad chest-slammed, milli vanilli-style with graig, the bride's brother, and we took a ridiculous walk on the beach--good idea inspired by mom, but unfortunately lead by ryan-- through tall beach grasses and soft sand in high heels at 1 am--it was quite an epic evening! it was way too short of a visit, but wonderful to be on a vacation with family for two days!

matt and i are going to home depot and lowes today to see if we can figure out something for our back patio area. the one goal we have for out there is to be able to have little campfires, so the ground covering needs to be nonflammable. we're setting a timeline of having it done by christmas. i know, that seems far away, but all november weekends are already booked. in fact, ryan is going to be coming out here for a long weekend in november!!!

we also have our plane tickets booked for christmas-hooray! and thanks to matt's bosses who gave the whole company an extra four days off. so now we can have a longer trip and not be so rushed.

well, does this blog at least tide you all over? well, it's going to have to! :)
p.s. justin-HILARIOUS video of that little girl escaping from church!

well i'm not going to name any names, but SOMEone's been a blog slacker!

back to life
back to reality!
yes, back to school--i've conked out at 9:30 these past two friday nights--can you believe it?? what a grown up/nerd!!! hopefully this year will be better than last year. it's starting out to be going pretty well so far, though, so hopefully it will be just fine. big shocker, the speech person who promised me help last year is not the one who has the authority to do so. the person who CAN help me, however, is not happy to and is giving me a bad time. i guess i can always threaten to leave :)
anyhoo, enough of that life-consuming business!

mare and i are having fun planning for ireland, sending a million emails back and forth--yes!!!! can not wait for western and northern ireland, especially! it's crazy that this is finally happening! i remember driving home from cornerstone music festival with mare, michelle, and emily and talking about our top ten places we wanted to visit (i remember also on my list were san francisco and seattle, which i have now achieved!) and ireland being on my list. also remaining on the list are: australia/new zealand, europe including (but not limited to): switzerland, austria, italy, germany; africa again, and the grand canyon. new additions to the list are: alaska, fiji/bali/etc--you know, the ultra-tropical kind of island i'm talking about. those will do me for now! i do have plans to do the europe trip by age 40 (michelle, are you still game? since we didn't get to do the "amazing race", this can be our consolation prize, remember? maybe we'll work in an adventure race there as well!). also, someday i want to buy an around-the-world airline ticket!!! you know, one of those open-ended tickets you buy for a base price and then you have a year to hop around the world with a certain number of stops (like 5-10, or something). any takers??? man, i love travelling! i would rather spend my (extra) money on travel than anything else in the world!

but before we get to ireland, matt and i have a few other trips to take-- the first one being virginia beach in just 3 weeks. our family friend, amanda henry, is getting married and we'll fly out to see that happen. and we'll get to hook up with mom, dad, ryan, michelle, hannah, and caleb. AND we'll get to meet caleb for the first time!!!! yay! what a chubby-cheeked cutie!!!

other fun stuff happening:
-we had a crab bake on labor day with our friends-so fun!
-we've been enjoying the beach before the fall really comes
-listening to new music by justin edwards--very impressive--some of the harmonies remind me of they might be giants!!!
-reading more books, mostly fiction
-just being lazy and enjoying our days here

have a great sunday everyone!

how in the world is it august 18th already??? i start back with teachers on august 29th and then the kids come back sept 6. time is going too fast!

dad edwards, we received your book in the mail and i am about 3/4 of the way through it (everyone should read it--but read the chronicles of narnia first, if you haven't already. or even if you haven't read them recently). i love it! and i'm proud of you--you're awesome. we'll talk about the contents soon, i hope...

mare, your account of your hike was amazing! i felt like i was reading an article in and adventure magazine (except you were way more funny). my question is: will you do it again?

please tell me you all will get the new pornographers new album-twin cinema (and don't be too offended by the name of the band, the music is fantastic)!!! i'm sad that i have to miss the show with matt, especially since they're playing with lassie! man!! but i'll see them in LA at the end of september, at least.

i've been reading my face off and i love it!!! just mixing it up with a little bruce edwards, dan brown, emma mclaughlin, c.s. lewis, j.k. rowling, maeve binchy, steve martin, oswald chambers, rosamunde pilcher, and the LORD! anyhoo, matt and i have been pulling a mike and carol brady lately by getting in bed with our books and reading for an hour or so before we go to sleep every night! ha! if only matt and i had the mike brady fro and carol brady flip, respectively...

if you've got will
and a little time
use it tonight
-new pornographers

mare, i like your new blog template.

what?
oh, hello people.
i'm back.

i woke up at 3:00 am and then again at 4:00 am so i give up. i'll blog and then i'll clean until i get tired again. why do i randomly wake up like this? i'm not sick and there's very little stress going on here, so the usual reasons aren't working. who knows? and furthermore, who of you, dear blog readers, actually care? moving on...

it has been awhile, hasn't it?
let's see, what has happened since i've written last?

we have a sweet new nephew (with completely chubby cheeks, which i shall kiss to no end!), who i can't wait to meet (hopefully in october!!!).

and we've been to colorado (for matt's cousin carlena's wedding) thanks to justin and mom and dad edwards. what a fun trip! good visiting with family and chatting and eating and jumping on a trampoline (or rather, sitting on a trampoline and being bounced around while someone else jumped--hilarious!!!).

i've been working quite a bit. more than i planned, actually, but it is really fun and i think it will make the transition back to work in 2 and a half weeks (what???) a little bit easier. usually, i'm off all summer and then my body and brain go into shock for the first month or two of school. i hope this helps me ease back into it. and i hope i'm not tricking myself :) heehee! i did get a full time job offer at my part time place of employment, which i entertained but will not be taking.

i finally got my hair trimmed (first time since december-ridiculously lazy!), so i feel much better about myself and my hair isn't all wild and flinging out all big everywhere.

matt and i celebrated our 3 year anniversary of living in san diego! the other night (august 10th) we took some bread and cheese and a bottle of champagne to sunset cliffs and recounted the highlights of the past three years--there are so many amazing things that have happened--and thanked God for fulfilling our dreams. it was so much fun! tomorrow is our 2 year anniversary of being in our condo!!! the time has gone so fast!!! and we love living in this home--i say it at least once/week and more than that when we come home from a trip!

oh! exciting news! we never could decide on a summer vacation place so matt and i are planning a trip to ireland in late june/early july 2006. anyone is welcome to join us. we'll be doing some backpacking and staying in hostels and bed and breakfasts. we'll have a general itinerary planned out, but we're going to be playing some things by ear, so you can either be flexible with us, or we can meet up with you for a more structured part of the trip! we can't wait!!! i'm starting our ireland savings account today, with my first paycheck (which is for 1.5 hours of work-ha!). any recommendations from people who have been there? we want to go the the aran islands, ride bikes around the dingle peninsula (teehee), and see the giant's causeway.

hilarious conversation overheard:
matt's old college friend gabe is getting married this weekend so somehow he and matt were talking last night.

gabe: so when are you and tracey having kids?
matt: uh, we don't know, we're having too much fun right now.
gabe: (long pause)
gabe: seriously???
matt: yeah.
gabe: (longer pause)...oh!

ha! so funny that he thought matt was joking! matt thinks it is because he can't comprehend having that much fun! heehee!
by the way, a little lesson for those of you who don't know the etiquette: don't ask someone when they are having kids--it is just bad manners! #1, you don't know if someone has been trying and you are going to hurt their feelings by asking (this happened to my mom and several friends), and #2, it is none of your business! sorry, just have to get that out there--we've been asked too many times lately--and not really by you readers, but in case you readers were thinking of asking us or anyone else, there is my opinion! ha!

by the way mare, i like your weather and other random alaska updates--i want to know everything that is going on up there with your new life--nothing is boring or insignificant, so quit saying that! and yes, i do have the new over the rhine, and i really like it. in fact, i will end this blog with a lyric from said album.

like an ocean without waves
You're the movement that i crave
and in that motion
i long to drown
and to be lost
not to be found

back from my blog vacation!
and my physical vacation, too...

i had such a fun time in hilton head with my family (though i missed matt and kevin and emily). the weather was unbelievably humid and hot, but we had a wonderful pool and, of course, the ocean just a short walk away.
in summary:
-ate a ton of good food
-enjoyed the luxury home we were staying in
-watched the ocean (it was flat and lake-like except for one day!)
-swam in the pool/ocean
-tamed the beast (a.k.a. inflatable alligator) by leaping on to it from outside the pool and maintaining position until at least the count of three (funniest moment was when 8 months pregnant michelle attempted this and instantly flipped over. her back didn't feel great that evening "i'm trying to think of what i did differently today...." hmmm...)
-went on a turtle walk and talk (the next day, mom spotted loggerhead turtle tracks and then saw caretakers moving the nearby turtle nest (129 eggs!) to a safer location--pretty awesome!)
-ran a 5k (ry and i got our personal records of 24:58--that's 8:03 minutes/mile-yeah! goal achieved!) while mom and aunt deedee were power walkers and dad, michelle, and hannah were our cheering section
-played yahtzee and cranium
-played a sweltering game of mulligan putt-putt, in which anytime all 4 of us got a penalty stroke (or, uh, strokes), none of us counted it! yeah! with these rules we beat uncle bob and jonathan and had so much more fun-heehee!
-chatted and talked and caught up with everyone i've been missing
-listening to silly hannah talk and squeal and do a million other cutie things. she looks so much like ryan, it's unbelievable. maybe caleb will look like michelle!

so now i'm home and loving it as well. matt and i are taking this whole weekend to ourselves. i've actually hardly seen him this week since he has had deadlines and has been working 10-12 hour days. so we're going to take a bike ride and chill at the beach today.

matt and i decided to do an adventure race in tahoe on september 24th! it involves kayaking, mountain biking, and trail running/orienteering, and "special tasks" (maybe a mud pit of some kind? heehee). training for it may be a challenge, especially with the orienteering (huh? how do you do that?) and kayaking (a little expensive to rent on a regular basis).

check out the website: http://www.bigblueadventure.com/pub/main2.asp?daEvent=25&daPageName=DISCIPLINES

mare, i love reading about your fun alaska adventures. can't wait to visit you someday (but not before one year is up, don't worry! :) and dad edwards, i love the africa adventures, justy-ditto in video/slideshow form.

can't wait to see the edwards family in colorado august 6-8th!

i'm out. have a great weekend, everybody!

by the way, the new ben folds album is great. the song about elliott smith is too sad to listen to most of the time, though. i can't wait to see him live in august.

SCHOOL'S
OUT
FOR
SUMMER!
i've been singing that since friday!!!!

it was a hectic but great day, too! a senior speech therapist came out to "see what my schedule was really like" since i've been writing them letters since september. after showing her my caseload and schedule and talking to her for 2 hours, she said, "yeah, you're going to need at least an extra day at each school next year. this is a 7-day-a-week job that you've been doing in 5 days." i feel so vindicated and relieved!!! now i don't feel like such a bad speech therapist-- i just couldn't physically do it all. and now i'm getting some help. this either means i will get an assistant (SLPA) who will help me at each school one day/week OR they will change the allocation of the schools (3 days for one, 4 days for the other) and i will have to choose one or the other and pick up and extra day or two at another school. either way, i don't care, i'm just relieved.

so after school on friday a couple of us ladies decided to go to happy hour at this new wine bar in ocean beach called "the vine". it was such a nice little place and it was a great way to end the school year! matt showed up at the end of our evening and we went out to ortega's, our favorite mexican restaurant, which was right across the street. then we came home and got in the hot tub and just relaxed. one of the most perfect days ever....

sunday we went up to see ryan in pasadena! he was staying at the ritz-carlton--it was sooooo nice! i've never stayed in a place that nice before! everyone was so nice and friendly and there were so many extra touches that i just felt rich! ha! ry and i had a great time together, too. while he was in his workshops all day monday, i went for a run (the concierge had a little laminated card that had routes and distances! and when i got back there was a huge silver chalice/bowl filled with ice and gatorade/water in the entryway, along with towels and a sign that said, "welcome back runners"!!!), got some snacks at the store, then hung out by the pool all day. it was pretty hot (maybe 90?) but it was nice under my umbrella. i just read magazines like "people" and "in touch", you know, silly ones that i would never read/believe in real life! and i hopped in the pool and swam around every half hour or so because it felt so good! ryan and his two friends joined me around 3:30 and we hung out for a couple hours. then we went to dinner with his work people (who, i think, were a little bit overwhelmed by me. they didn't quite know how to take me. a response i get usuallly in public places in the midwest.) for example, just making what i consider to be normal conversation, "are you all excited to be here?" or "oh my gosh, this place is so great, isn't it?" was evoking stares and confused silences from his crew. anyway, ryan and i were cracking up!

by the way, has anyone ever eaten "cake batter" ice cream from coldstone? well, if you love yellow/vanilla cake batter, you should--because it tastes EXACTLY like it!!! so yummy!

anyhoo, now i'm back and i've been enjoying the beautiful weather and the ocean.
oh yeah! i also got that job to do speech therapy with babies and toddlers! i had a really good interview (where the guy tried to recruit me to be full time-ha!). he said, "not only can we compete with the school system, i think we're better than the school system!" i said, "well, we shall find out..." and he said, "yes, we will!". it was fun banter--this was the first time i've ever walked into an interview feeling confident (probably because of 6 years of experience now but also because i don't NEED the job). i even asked for more money and he gave me $5 per hour more! i was already more than happy with the amount he was offering, but thought, what can i lose? this place just opened in san diego in march, got its first families about a month ago, so i feel pretty fortunate to be on the ground level. anyhoo, i'll only be working 5-10 hours/week, so it will keep me going this summer. when school starts, i'll go down to no more 5 hours/week.

welp, i really must get my day started!
have fun, africans!
have fun, alaskans!
have fun, ohioans!
what do you call people from kentucky? kentuckians? no, that doesn't sound right.
how about have fun, hillbillies! ha!

tracey :)

3 more days of school!!!!

i had my famous speech parties today and the kids were in heaven. and i was highly annoyed because of too much noise in my ears! however, i had to pretend i was okay because i'd hate for those kids' last memories of me to be of "mrs. grump". i do it all over again tomorrow at my other school and then i have two days of pure paperwork and meetings.

i have an interview scheduled next week for that early intervention organization, so we shall see what happens with that!

not too much else that is new, except that i am unnaturally tired! and i'm getting enough sleep, i think. just stress probably (or depression, says a co-worker-ha!).

my real reason for writing is to tell you all to check out matt's blog, it has a fun picture of us with the waterfall that we found on a recent hike in pasadena--so fun! yet oh-so-cold!

i'm outie--i'll check you all after june 17th!!!!

ONLY 5 MORE DAYS OF SCHOOL!!!
and this week should be a little less jam-packed with meetings. i just need to do a lot of paperwork and stuff and, of course, have my famous speech parties!!!

last night matt and i went to see the new star wars movie. we used our movie gift certificates, so i'm glad we didn't pay real money for the show. the certificates also allowed us to purchase popcorn and a giant coke, which neither of us needed and both regretted after having racing hearts a couple hours later. back to the movie, though: although this one wasn't QUITE as boring as the other two, the acting was horrible! the special effects were pretty cool, i must say. i wanted to see more wookies, personally. the best part of the movie was that we saw a "the lion, the witch, and the wardrobe" full preview. it looks AMAZING!!! i can't wait for december 9th!!!!

next sunday matt and i will be going up to pasadena to see rydogg. matt will have to go back sunday night, of course, since he has to work on monday. but i'll stay there on sunday night and monday night and hang with him. then i'll come home and continue my relaxation for the next 9 weeks!!! i plan to NOT think about work the entire time! ha! i actually may have an opportunity for really part time work (per diem) with kids ages birth-3. i'm playing phone tag with the guy right now, but i was referred to this agency by my friend who is an occupational therapist. she works 2 1/2 hours/week for the agency and loves it. we shall see...

then on to cincinnati on june 30, then on to hilton head with the good/byrd side of the family on july 2. i can't wait to see silly hannah at the beach! i wonder if she'll be dining on as much sand as she was this time last year... the only thing missing will be kevin and emily--we wish you guys were coming!

i'm listening to nada surf--how did i miss them in the mid-late 90s? they're pretty good.
oh yeah, upcoming shows i'm excited about include (but are not limited to):

-street scene festival (including the killers, pixies, white stripes, hot hot heat, deathcab for cutie, snoopdog (wha?), dashboard, flogging molly, flaming lips, kasabian, international noise conspiracy, von bondies, and more)
-ben folds (yay! i've been waiting forever to see him in a smoke-free environment!!!)

i really must get my hair cut. it has been since christmas and i must say my head is beginning to look like a triangle when i actually do wear my hair down. it's not a pretty picture, people!!!

welp, enough of my ramblings!

back from mexico!
we had such a fun, relaxing trip--it was even better this year than it was last year!!!!
we arrived friday around 6:00 pm, we unpacked, took a walk on the beach, and watched the sunset as we made burgers and hotdogs and a million other snacky type foods. after we ate, we played some games and competed for the master bedroom. the place has 3 bedrooms and we trade rooms each night, just so everything is even. plus, everyone wants the master bedroom with the huge bed! so matt and i won first choice and we chose the last night--save the best for last, eh?

anyhoo, i was up the balcony, watching the ocean, when i thought, "hm. the waves look like they're just glowing in the moonlight." then i realized the moon wasn't out--it was totally overcast. so i yelled down to our friend suzanne, a scientist who first told us about "bioluminescence"--she came up and confirmed that it was so. we all went tearing down to the ocean (tide was pretty low) to get a closer look!

mini science lesson here: a red tide happens when a certain type of plankton (or red algae) blooms out of control. during the day, it makes the ocean look brownish red. at night, when the plankton are agitated by the crashing waves, they illuminate and glow a light, bright blue.

it was AMAZING! i have never in my life seen anything like it! we didn't know how long it would last, so we all dropped trou (not entirely, mind you!) and went running into the ocean, glowing as we swam! you could put your hands in the water, lift them out and see teeny tiny glowing bits sparkling on your hands before they went out. when we swam, our hands and feet especially (most movement there, i assume) glowed. in some places where the algae was thick (but microscopic and teeny, so it didn't feel like much), we all just stood and the whole area around us lit up--it illuminated enough to see teeny fish swimming around as well. it was absolutely magical.

definitely one of the best moments of my life.

the rest of the weekend included laying out in the perfect warm weather, reading magazines, chatting, laughing so hard, taking walks (and one run) on the beach, eating and eating and more eating! the most perfect thing was that there was NOTHING we had to do. nothing on a list, no errands to run, no phone to answer--nada!

and now we're home, where our bodies went into shock at the amount of work there is to do back here. what? i'm still on vacation in my head!! but there are only 13 days left of school. yay! and then aaaaaaahhhhhhhh!

oh yeah!
congratulations to kevin and emily, on your new home!!!!! how exciting!!! i can't wait to see it--it sounds so cute and fun! by the way, we did get your moving announcement--so clever! and mare and casey, congratulations on your job in houston, AK--and have fun house hunting!!!

welp, i'm outie!
and sleepy.
and i'm listening to the new oasis album, which is solid.
byebye

so fun to check people's blogs that i haven't checked in months, and see new entries (ahem... ryan, emily)! wow ry, that was an epic adventure with some allllllllsome food!

matt and i get to visit with rydogg when he is out in pasadena for a conference june19-22! we'll both see him sunday, then i'll go back up monday since i'm off of school (YES!) and hang out with him by the pool of the ritz-carlton, sipping pina coladas and getting pedicures. yes ryan, i know how much you've wanted a poolside pedicure--it's my treat!

anyhoo, i'm experimenting with some speedwork during my running. i had my first workout yesterday, involving 4X440s (4 times around the track) at a quick pace (1:45-2:00/lap) with 60 seconds of rest in between laps. with warm up and cool down, of course. it actually wasn't too bad. but it was the first time in a long time that my legs have been tired while running (usually it is my lungs/heart that get tired first). i have to gradually increase the distance (8x880s) and see if i can maintain my time.

matt and i are getting excited for our weekend in mexico. we rented the same house in mexico that we stayed in last year. mexico is such a great, cheap vacation! we can stay there for 3 nights for the cost of one night in a decent hotel (i'm not talking motel 6, here) in the us. so today i'm going grocery shopping for the necessary supplies--including, of course, taco ingredients! it will be so fun and so relaxing! the house is next to a nature preserve, so it is very beautiful and very quiet. just what we've been needing!

welp, i must go to an awkward IEP meeting now. this is part 2 of a previous meeting. for that previous meeting, i had come in to the room early, put my files down, and went over to the computer on the other side of the room and started printing out some documents that the case manager had asked for. people were sort of milling about, waiting for the parent to come. all of the sudden, the mom storms into the room, slams her purse on the table, and yells, "I AM PISSED OFF BECAUSE THIS SCHOOL HAS FAILED MY SON! YOU HAVE ALL FAILED MY SON!" instantly, my heart started racing and i scanned the table, where is she sitting, where am i sitting? OH NO--right next to her! directly in the line of fire!!!! her tirade lasted 45 more minutes while we sat there sort of stunned. then she calmed down and everyone was laughing by the end of the meeting. we'll see how it goes today.

have a great day, everybody--the 3-day weekend is almost here!

hey gang!
i feel like my dad when i say that! ha!

welp, another monday down! and only 2 more to go, thanks to memorial day off next monday!
(18 more days of school left, for those of you counting with me!)

we had a great weekend with our friends andy stevens, andy mccann, and andy mccann's sister, katie. they all ended up coming down to san diego, since katie had never been here before. we had such a fun time with them, as usual. we went surfing on saturday, which was so fun! the waves were pretty rough and big, so we stayed close to shore. we ended up catching some decent rides, though! yesterday we took a run, went to hodad's, shopped in ocean beach, watched the sunset on sunset cliffs, and relaxed in the hot tub before they left at 10:00 pm.

apparently, someone in our complex reported termites, so our place (along with all the other condos) was checked today. and they did find some termites in our attic, as well some other odd insects that had eaten away at our back deck. the creatures in the back deck will not leave on their own, either, so they need to be terminated as well. thank God for the HOA now! this will be no charge to us, thankfully. and the problem is not severe enough to tent, so we don't have to get kicked out of our place, either.

my mind is turning toward summer...
getting excited for hilton head island with the good family, relaxing on the beach every day in san diego, taking pilates/yoga, etc. classes every morning at the ymca, and exploring different museums at balboa park. matt and i have yet to plan a vacation for ourselves. it seems like the summer is quickly being consumed with weddings and festivals and concerts, though. so we MUST make it a priority! heehee!

well, i think i will go on a bike ride. it will be my first since our 65 miler! i've been focusing more on running (er, i mean, huffing and running and walking and puffing--whew!) this past week. my last 5k time was 26:44, which is about 8:30/mile. i would LOVE to take it down to 8:00/mile, but i don't know if that can happen in 5 weeks of training, considering my base training isn't even there! it may be quite impossible to get down to 24:00. so we shall see.... i think if i can even beat my last time, i will be thrilled!

so i'm off!

p.s. emily, it's good to read your blogs again-ha! i love your stories!
p.p.s. justin, i love your chicago blog--did you get anything at ikea?

only 21 more days of school left!
i can do it!

we had a fun weekend with the edwards family. we camped up in santa cruz county on the coast (matt and i had stayed there two years ago). the beach was just a short walk down from our campsite, where we read magazines and threw the aerobie. we also went into santa cruz for the day and had coffee and wend shopping. we missed out on the pier, which was a bummer, but the trip ended up being nice and relaxing.

except for the 65 mile bike ride, which was not relaxing! ha! what a fun ride, but so tiring! and it was completely beautiful riding through the mountains, strawberry fields, along the coast, and through a beautiful wooded area with a creek. we started at 8:00 am and finished at 2:15/2:30 and it ended up being about 5 hours of riding (not including breaks). they had rest stops along the way for lunch and other food/drink items. there were three big hills and lots of rolling hills for a change in elevation of 4000 feet, which doesn't sound like much, but it was. matt, mary and i all stuck together for the first 15 miles or so and then we all split up and went at our own pace. mom and dad edwards were waiting at the lunch place and then at the finish line (well, finish area).

mom edwards asked if we would ever do that ride again. and we (matt and i, that is) said not that particular ride. we both want to do a century (100 miles) someday. but someday later when we both have time to train for something that long!!! bike riding is fun, but the long races take so much training time--i think i'm with you, mare--i'll stick with triathlons/adventure races! we won't see mare for another 6-12 months, so it was good to have one last event of 2005 with her!!!

then on monday we had a nice visit with our friends max and deb, from toledo. they were in town so we all went out to dinner: sushi--finally! matt was outnumbered and i got to go! it was sort of pricey, though. i guess i'm used to cleveland's sushi rocks, where it is so cheap. oh well, i'll just have to plan another visit back there soon!

we had some friends over last night to watch the seattle supersonics game (and for some tortilla soup!). unfortunately, i ended up getting a migraine in the middle of dinner and had to miss out on all the fun. i tried to be a trooper and just laid on the couch for awhile, but then i started feeling too sick to my stomach, so i moved downstairs. i'm still feeling pretty bad today-i hope it clears up soon! probably stress+excessive exercise+hormones+pressure change= this migraine, i never really know anymore.

i am looking forward to this weekend--we'll be getting together with our friends to plan our memorial day weekend in mexico. then on saturday we will head up to LA to visit the andys and chill there. they live in hollywood, which is gross, but LA is usually hotter than san diego, so maybe we'll get in some good beach time!

i hope everyone is doing well...

i've been so lax about updating!
but really and truly have been busy with visitors as well as working long hours...

so here will be a (hopefully) nice long blog to keep you all from getting irate at my first sentence, since mom edwards' birthday has long since passed (by the way, we'll celebrate in santa cruz!)

let's recap, shall we?
we had such a fun visit with michelle and sweet baby hannah, who was so much fun. just chattering away, thinking and responding, and being so silly and giggly and good! it was especially fun to hear her saying our names (ceecee and uncle matt) all the time for different things that she wanted us to be a part of (for example, her bath, putting on shoes, eating, etc., etc., etc.!). so now i can be a bragging aunt, right? hannah's language is amazing! SPEECH THERAPIST NERD ALERT!!!! at 18 months, she should be saying about 15-30 one-word utterances, but this little peanut was saying mostly 2-word utterances and sometimes even 3 words!!! she was counting to four, and knew some colors and all her body parts. i know i'm the only one getting excited about this, but i gave her a standardized language assessment and she is in the 88th percentile for her age group (way above normal limits) and has a language age-equivalent of a child aged 2 years, 3 months. can you blame me for being excited? NERD ALERT PASSING....

mary came down a couple of days into their visit and we did the 21 mile alpine challenge bike ride. yikes! all i will say is the last 11 miles were uphill and exhausting. but we made it and it was a really satisfying feeling!!! and the best part was the free (well, minimal donation to charity) sports massage afterwards--ahhhhhhh...... and we weren't even sore the next day!!!! i really believe it was because of that massage. and michelle and hannah were waiting for us at mile 16--we were the only riders who had a cheering section!!!!

then uncle matt babysat that night so the girls could have a night out. so we all got pedicures (mine still looks perfect, girls?) first and then went out to eat at casa de bandini in old town, a really cute mexican restaurant. we sat on the veranda/balcony and ordered drinks and an appetizer while we waited (hour and 15 minute wait, we were told). well, after an hour of eating appetizers and chips/salsa, we weren't hungry anymore! so we left the restaurant to walk the streets of old town. we bought tortillas and stood on the street corner, having such a great chat.

michelle and hannah took off on weds, april 19th in the morning. so sad--we missed having them around every morning when we woke up and every day when we came home from work.

but then our good friends kelly and spivey came into town thursday! i picked them up at the airport at 1:00 and took them to lunch at rancho's, a great mexican joint with a beautiful outdoor arbor, covered in bouganvilla (sp?) to eat under. it was a great long weekend of chatting and talking and eating. we went to fillipi's for pizza, to ocean beach for coffee and a walk on the beach, the boys played hours of basketball, kel and i found a new coffeeshop with an ocean view, and we laughed and talked and solved the world's problems! ha! we went into the weekend with no real plans other than to talk and matt's plan of playing basketball with spive. and this is because they are the kind of friends that it is fun to just go to the store with, or stand in line with. we get into such great conversations with them that we often lose track of time and place and forget where we are, or we become late to wherever we were going, just because we stopped to chat! we're so glad they moved out to san jose. and part of their trip was a researching trip because they may be considering a move to san diego (depending on where kelly gets accepted for a PhD program).

they took off on sunday, which was probably good because i had sort of a rough week at work--just super busy with LONG IEP meetings. Usually meetings will be anywhere from 45 min-2 hours. and the 2 hour-long ones are exhausting, but sometimes necessary for everyone to say what they need to say. well, we had a meeting on friday that lasted 3 and a half hours AND WE STILL WEREN'T DONE! so we met again this thursday for FOUR MORE HOURS! and we STILL need to meet again. it's because the parents are really well-informed and well-educated and have strong opinions about their child's needs. and they also have an advocate (this is a person who is rude and demanding and acts like an expert, but is not one). we have a positive relationship with the parents, but EVERY LITTLE THING is a huge discussion. so exhausting! i don't get paid enough to do this. and it cuts into time that i am able to spend doing what i love, which is seeing kids.

i don't intend to complain, just explain, really. this year has been difficult. between a new computer system and network that is faulty and consistently sucks away my time, and an increasing number of "high-profile" or potentially high-profile cases (meaning parents have sued the school district and won, or may sue them, depending on how my meetings go), it has changed and my stress level has increased significantly. so while i really enjoyed my job the first two years i was here, this year has proven to be the most challenging, on many levels.

welp, enough about work!
our friend des is in town from new york and we've been having so much fun with her! we had lobster tacos on weds night and had a bonfire in our friends backyard last night. everyone started conking out around 11:30, so it wasn't a very late night, thankfully! des has a cute little mutt doggie named "farley", who i love. he sat on my lap like old times last night.... we'll all go to dog beach today at some point and have a picnic and let the dogs run wild!

matt and i also need to work in a long bike ride sometime today and tomorrow--yikes! our 65 mile ride is coming up in 2 weeks!!!!! we both got road tires installed on our bikes to make for a smoother (and faster!) ride, so that part is ready. our last ride, you know the 21 miler, had a change of elevation of 2500 feet. this one has a change of over 4000 feet. i don't know why i thought this one would be easier (terrain/elevation-wise), but i think we're all in for a rude awakening! ha! we'll be camping in santa cruz with mary and casey and mom and dad edwards, so that will be so fun!

welp, i must get the day started!

remember the things you have seen
the sun that shines down on the world so still
think of the places you'll go
somewhere the language sounds like music to your ears
-denison witmer

happy birthday mom edwards!!!!

boy, am i tired today!
i've been having sinus headaches since sunday and it is GETTING OLD!!! anyways, enough complaining from me!

first off, the U2 concert was AMAZING!!! you can see by matt's picture how close we were to the stage. it was a fantastic show and they played some great songs. i really can't even put it into words. it was worth every penny and i would go see them again any day. like matt said, when they sang "where the streets have no name", it was probably the best moment of the whole show.

i started my 3rd ceramics course this week, which will go through may 24th. so that will be keeping me busy on tuesdays and thursdays for awhile. and i will be crafting some new specimens for some of you (unless you specifically say, "i would be happy to entertain you and look at your completed projects but i can not have another piece of junk in my house", which believe me, i understand and would take NO offense!). why do you think i give them away???? heehee! no, when i am making something, usually i have a person in mind the whole time and i'm thinking about them when i am creating. so when/if you do get a handmade item from me, keep that in mind! and, even better than the actual products, after i'm done with this course i will go up in the pay scale-yay!

i'm trying to find a vacation spot for matt and i this summer. airline tickets are too high (and only getting higher with the price of gasoline going up) and we will not be camping--matt needs an actual vacation with a hotel and pool and air conditioning, not a working vacation with setting up camp, heat, and bugs! which we love at times, but mare reminded me that his vacation time is limited (unlike mine) and he needs something relaxing! we were maybe going to go to hawaii to celebrate our 7 year anniversary, but like i said, the ticket prices are too high. here are the requirements for this vacation at this point:
1. on/near the ocean
2. within an 8 hour driving distance
3. must be in a hotel

hmmmm.... looks like that is either mexico (and i don't really want to drive our car down there) or central coast/northern coast california. maybe we'll have to change our requirements. or maybe airline tickets will go down in price by the time we want to travel. any suggestions anyone?

moving on...
i can't wait for michelle and hannah and the peanut baby inside to come to san diego on wednesday!!! michelle and ry--what do you think about both of your kids coming to san diego while in the womb??? don't blame aunt tracey and uncle matt when they want to move here later-heehee! speaking of uncle matt, he will be babysitting on that saturday night so me, michelle, and mary can have a girls night out!!!

kev and emily, we've been thinking about you guys since you were originally planning on visiting us last week. we're praying for your pop pop and hoping for his healing. we can't wait to have you in june!

while we're on the subject of visitors, april is completely booked now, so if anyone else wants to come visit us, get your orders in soon--summer is starting to fill up as we speak!

welp, a lot has been happening, but i don't have the energy to write, so i must be off!

finally i'm updating!
we've been having fun with our visitors (round one: aunt deedee, uncle bob, and jonathan; round two: mary and justin). we had a wonderful time with both of them.
highlights with the burns family included:
1. chats with aunt deedee and our walk on sunset cliffs
2. a memorable dinner at a great italian restaurant in the gaslamp
3. eating hot tortillas (and getting burned!) on the sidewalk at old town
4. a visit to cabrillo monument

highlights with mare and justy:
1. spending time at the beach
2. they might be giants show
3. hiking up cowles mountain
4. laughing so hard at ridiculous things
5. eating at hodad's

so we're getting ready for our next round: michelle and hannah baby and the little boy baby who is in michelle's tummy!

matt and i watched the village last night and i loved it. i loved how it messed with my head about halfway through (i won't ruin it for those who have yet to see it). grade: A

tonight matt and i are going to see U2!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
for those of you who don't know.... this is going to be EPIC!!!!! U2 was the first album i ever bought-in 5th grade, (joshua tree) and it's on both mine and matt's lists of things we want to do in our lifetime. so i can't even wait!!! our friends sue and tom are also going with us and we'll be sitting with some people matt works with. the show is in anahiem, so it's a bit of a drive, but we're heading up early and checking into a travelodge and sharing a room. then we can just crash and relax after the show. matt's friend is renting a stretch SUV of some kind and they offered us a ride to/from the show. we may just take them up on that offer!

anyhoo, i'm finally getting back into the swing of training, after being SUCH a huge slacker. and it feels really good!
and man, we have had beautiful (and warm) days, which has made it much easier to get out and get going. yesterday i went running with my "running club" at school, which consists of me, the spanish teacher, and the school nurse. we ran along the cliffs and then took a break by going down the stairs to the beach/rocks at the bottom. we were just sitting there on a smaller cliff that was about 5 feet above water level, chatting, enjoying the sun, watching the surfers...when BAM! first i heard it hit the rocks and i tried to run (where? i don't know where i thought i was going...), but to no avail. a huge wave crashed OVER OUR HEADS. we all started screaming and laughing! and thankfully, we didn't get swept out to sea with it!!! we decided that break was refreshing enough and finished our run, soaking wet. ha!

welp, i must do some shopping and get ready for our big night!!!!!
have a great weekend everyone.

out one day
walking one day
out one day
with you hallelujah
-eisley

is it me, or did tunisia lose a couple of vowels while i wasn't looking?
it's fun to hear about your adventures, dad edwards!

the burns family has landed in san diego! we are having so much fun. they left for a mini-excursion to LA and santa barbara but will be back on thursday. we went to a fun improv comedy club on saturday night and it was very funny! sort of a "whose line is it, anyway?" type of show, with audience participation and funny skits. i will definitely have to go again and bring matt (he was at a concert instead) next time! we also walked sunset cliffs, the boys played torrey pines, we visited cabrillo monument, and took them to our favorite beaches in san diego.

we're looking forward to our next sets of visitors coming soon (mare and justy!).
welp, i only had a second and thought i'd do a quick blog!
grammy--yay! we missed your blogs!
michelle-i was laughing so hard about the cheesecake story--i can just picture it!

so in addition to working a full day sunday, matt worked from 6 am yesterday morning to 11 pm last night. he went in at 5:30 this morning--i hope he doesn't stay that late tonight--i miss him!!! thankfully his deadline is tomorrow, so at least i'll get to see him tomorrow night!

the guys came today to prepare our current floors for the installation of new ones. i made a chocolate cake and had coffee going so they would do a great job! also, the estimate of the project includes a certain number of hours for preparation+ installation and if they work less than those hours, we get charged less. and since i wasn't able to be present to check when exactly they left, i'm hoping the cake was enough of a guilt trip for them to be honest. ha! we shall see... so our floors are bare with some putty and junk (i don't know what it is, but it is smelly) that made the floor level. and they predicted that it would only take until noon tomorrow before the whole job is finished--yay! that is one day earlier than predicted!

i did this raw foods detox diet thing a little while ago to help get my kidneys/liver/etc. back in order and cleansed out and boy can i tell a difference now. everytime i eat something with refined sugar or preservatives, i get an instant headache. i used to drink one coke a day (which i thought was limiting it pretty nicely, anyways) but now i haven't been able to get through more than 5 sips without getting a headache. also, anything like ranch dressing, chips, cheetos, or things with partially hydrogonated oils are an instant headache, too. talk about a deterrant from unhealthy food!!!!! it's fantastic! let me know if you are interested, anyone!

hey! i just heard my honey walk in the door--i'm out!!!

yesterday we finished tearing up the deck, rented a uhaul, loaded it up with our demolished hot tub, deck wood, carpet, and padding. then we drove up to our friend eddie's house and picked up his carpet (they're doing wood floors, too) and other junk and drove to the smelly dump!

everything was going so quickly and smoothly (unlike our last trip to the dump with a uhaul so weighed down with concrete pieces that the axles were bowed and the wheels were scraping against the bottom of the truck), we couldn't believe it. and we shouldn't have, because it was too good to be true. the dump was about 10-15 minutes away from the uhaul place and we had to refill it with diesel fuel. very long story short, we tried about 9 gas stations in the area and no one had diesel. two of them were supposed to, but their pumps weren't working. to add insult to injury, the roads we were on were right by the busiest mall in san diego, so we had mall traffic of people coming and going on a saturday AND the stoplights were out. it took FOREVER to get anywhere! so frustrating!!! the icing on the cake was when we were trying to pull out of a gas station driveway into the lanes of stopped traffic, what did we see trying to get through all the cars? an ambulance. everyone was moving aside and the ambulance was actually getting through pretty well. until the woman in front of us blocked it. we backed up and motioned for her to angle into the parking lot driveway, but she was NOT getting it. soooo, the ambulance headed right for us, trying to take a shortcut through the parking lot. but we were so huge we were blocking most of the driveway. so matt threw it in reverse, backed up quickly, and the ambulance got through safely. and we backed right over a big chain-link fence! ha! we finally just went back to point loma and filled up there, dropped off that uhaul, and made it home in a grand total of 2 HOURS. whew!

our reward was a nice cookout with friends and a fire in their firepit outside that evening. we had a great time.

i'm bummed, matt has to work today.

but i do need to run some errands and get in a bike ride, so i'll be doing that--but i'll miss him! hopefully he will get some comp time and be able to take off that friday when mary and justin are in town.

speaking of that, only 5 more days until the burns family arrives!!!

have a great day everyone!

i know you've all been dying for an update on the status of my eye.
it actually got better during the day, but i went to the doctor anyways. she said it was not pinkeye, but an allergic reaction. good. an allergic reaction to what, i wonder? i have to rummage around and figure out what i've been sticking in my eye. maybe my eye is allergic to the twitch that i have developed. maybe it is allergic to the pirate patch i've been wearing.

i moved most of our living room furniture down to our guest room last night. and then i moved all the wood in our family room up off the floor so we can tear up the carpet. matt was mad, but i just had a samson moment and couldn't resist using my brute strength!

michael, i like your new song.
justin, i like your scumstache.

don't you hate when someone says, "this is going to make you laugh," and then what they say is not funny? there are all those expectations and then if you don't deliver, that person could be embarrassed, which makes me sort of sad, so i usually give a half-hearted laugh. and then i'm annoyed with myself for being fake. but at least i've been polite, i suppose. i say this because the pilates instructor i had tonight said that. luckily, she was addressing a whole room full of people, so i didn't have to pretend, but i still felt rude. oh well, i'm over it! and i'm sure she is, too.

today i have a happy hour after work at a restaurant i haven't been to yet. it is supposedly german, so i don't have high expectations for the food, but maybe i'll get a nice glass of white reisling. then matt and i are going to fillippi's, our favorite italian place (mom good, that's where the sauce was "so good"!:).

welp, have a great weekend everybody!

okay, as if the twitching hasn't been enough (yes, that is still going on), i woke up with pinkeye today. sick! well, that's the price of working with kids. i guess i'm surprised i haven't had it before now. technically, i'm not supposed to go to school today because i'm contagious, but i'm not taking a sick day when i feel fine and i have so much to do!

matt is really busy at work so it makes it easier for me to stay late and get my stuff done. we have a ton of stuff going on this weekend. we're renting a truck and hauling away our jaccuzi (turns out it wasn't as "portable" as it claimed to be, three guys couldn't lift it but they sure had fun destroying it into pieces-ha!) and all the wood from our deck. then we need to move our furniture from upstairs to downstairs because we're getting our new wood floors put in next week! we have to then rip up the carpet and haul it away in that same rented truck. well actually, matt and our friend eddie are going to do most of that actual work, but i will be directing and bossing around! ha!

my ceramics class is over--i start a new one (and last one) in april. that should give me the final number of credits i need to go up in the pay scale. i only made 3 bowls and a vase this time. working on that wheel is challenging. also, i missed a few classes, so that didn't help my productivity, either!

matt ordered girl scout cookies from a friend at work and i can't wait to eat some tonight for dessert!!!!! i love this time of year! i have my thin mints in the freezer as we speak!

well, i do have to get to work, so i must be going.
mom edwards, the gorilla family is so cute! and i love their living environment.
have a great thursday, everyone!

i have now joined the ranks of mary, as i went to my very own "bunko" party last night. my friend, the resource specialist at my school, invited me to go to this fund-raising event as her guest because she knew it wasn't her husband's thing. when she called him to tell him i accepted, he said, "i owe tracey--what is her favorite.....everything?" i said anything from tiffany's, of course! it ended up being so fun and i was able to get so rambunctious! for those of you who don't know, bunko is a dice game that you play in rounds as you rotate from table to table depending on whether you win or lose the round (and you have a new teammate every round). so i only saw my friend for one round and then i was off and running!

matt and i will be going to a show (pinback) tonight. it should be great, i heard them doing a live studio performance on a local radio station yesterday and they sounded fantastic! he and his buddies will be destroying the rest of the deck today and then we'll go pick up our pergo from home depot (it still won't be installed for awhile, though).

some family notes....
dad edwards, that is scary about your blood pressure--so glad you've been able to get that regulated. i hope you don't have to stay on your medication for too long.
justin, i laughed so hard at your attic blog (yes!).
grammy, where is your new and improved roadrunner blog? heehee!
kevin and emily, thinking and praying for your poppop and family.

welp, i need to go deposit our state tax REFUND. yay! it feels so good to say that--it's been too many years of owing too much. but now we both claim ourselves as "0" on our W-2s, and we're good to go. plus, we own our condo. that helps.
so i have to run the saturday morning errands over here, have a great weekend, everybody!

i agree with dad edwards--february is a drag.
i've always said that it seems like the longest month, even though it is the shortest.
the thing that makes it even more of a drag is that it is raining AGAIN!!!! waaaahhh!
matt went to LA to see the andys and i stayed home to rest, recuperate, and get things done. it has been a hard week.
we tried to buy a car yesterday and had our first relatively positive interaction with "brian". he couldn't give us the price we wanted, but maybe he'll call and offer that price today! as i mentioned before, those guys are the lowest of the low. the last guy we dealt with gave us the whole schpeel about we'd be crazy not to buy the car that very instant.
and matt said, "i'm not coming inside with you. this was a research visit."
the guy said, "what's it gonna take to get you in a car tonight?"
"we're NOT buying anything today," we said.
"what do you want? you want to talk to someone who doesn't have an accent?"
(because he had an accent).
i was instantly upset.
my HUGEST pet peeve is when someone assumes i possess qualities that i despise (such as racism, prejudice, manipulation, ulterior motives etc.)
i kept thinking about it all day long.
the car was great, the price was right--but he's never getting our business.

we're getting worn down by these people--we may have to change our game plan and get a car from a private party...

welp--i have the day off today, due to president's day! so i'm going to pilates this morning, which i normally can't do on a weekday. this weekend i did a little shopping and finally spent some christmas gift certificates! that was fun--i bought some fun spring/summer clothes (which i can't wear right now, since it is raining and cold! boohoo...). my search is still on for a good jean jacket--maybe i'll find one today.

i can't wait to find out whether we're having a new niece or a new nephew!!! only a few more weeks...
also only a few more weeks until the burns family arrives--i hope we will be through with the rain by then!!!!
well, i'd better get going to pilates--
michelle-your comment about playing catan in the ice storm reminded me of having snow days! what fun!

my eye has been twitching at least a few times a day (sometimes like a hundred times a day!!!) since before christmas. i may have tourette's syndrome-don't be surprised if i start randomly yelling obscenities. i may have to start wearing a pirate eye patch if this continues!!!

anyhoooooo....i had friday off of work in order to celebrate abraham lincoln's birthday. and i celebrated by having someone come out to the house to measure for our new pergo floors. they will get back to me with an estimate on wednesday, so we shall see. grammy, what did you do to celebrate your hero's birthday? :)

matt put an ad in "craig's list" advertising our FREE HOT TUB (you haul away) and within an hour we had 6 phone inquiries and 10 emails. so some people came by to look at it last night--since it is inset into our 2nd level deck, they couldn't see if it was going to be easy enough to move. so today matt and i and our friend tom are going to be tearing up our deck (which we have been intending to do since we moved in. it may just be dirt out there for awhile, but at least that will get us motivated to fix it how we want (which involves laying flagstone-irregular shaped flat stones-with a border of blue mexican river rock, then get a little bistro table, bamboo/reed fencing and most importantly--a firebowl, so we can have campfires out there)--just in case you were all wondering!

since we're going to be getting a new car in the next couple of months, we'd rather sell the jetta ourselves than have a dealer rip us off. so matt listed that the next day (on craig's list) and had a ton of emails--people offering to pay cash for it now and then just give it to them when we get our new car. crazy! he had to take both ads off within a day because we were getting so many calls! he's meeting someone in an hour for that business.

we got two inches of rain yesterday here in point loma, which is disappointing because we were going to go mountain biking at mission trails today. but those deals are going to be straight mud, so we may just take a normal road ride over to mission bay after we finish the deck.

man!!!! the rain just started up again--go away! well, at least everything will be beautiful and green for all of our march visitors! and my eye started up again as well, though i can't find any positive in that.

we could count the stars
and we could plunder the galleons
my heart is on the outside, looking
i've been searching with my one eye missing
i'm a pirate eye
i'm a pirate eye
-lassie foundation

matt made this great mix that i am listening to right now, you guys need to get into it. some new(er) tunes for you to research/buy/burn when you come to visit: palomar, elefant, aqueduct, razorlight, elliott smith, reeve oliver, q and not u, hippos, fall out boy, mates of state, and the new starflyer album....

we had an impromptu weekend extender (that's now what we call friday night activities now that we're older and it's harder to go out on friday night) on friday with some friends. they all came over to our house for an appetizer and then we walked to downtown ocean beach and ate dinner at bravo's, a mexican place. then we went to pacific shores for an after dinner drink and walked back home. it ended up being such a fun time!

yesterday matt and i did a little research for our future wood floor buying experience. it's sort of a long process, actually. i was hoping to have them put in before our guests come in the middle of march, but it looks like the earliest will be late march/early april. then matt went out and bought a rotisserie chicken, bread, and cheese from the grocery store and we stuffed ourselves!!! we blobbed around, rented the last episodes of sex and the city--and it had such a great final episode, we're sad that it's over!

today we went for a hike back in sunset cliffs natural park and everything is green and lush and beautiful. the place where we had mom and dad edwards' 30th anniversary celebration is overgrown with green plants and yellow flowers, as is the entire park. we hiked down the cliffs to the beach and tidepools and explored and found sea plants and creatures. now we're getting ready to go to a superbowl party. i don't care about the actual game, but there will be guacamole, i've been told, so that's the main draw. also, someone is making a chart where we can "buy" boxes and something or other about the last 2 numbers of the score of each quarter--either way, i plan on winning some money from this deal!!!!

have fun this afternoon, everybody!

yeah, the sun always shines around you...
-the queers

i love thursdays.
this is because 1. friday is tomorrow and 2. because my kids go home at 12:20 and i get my afternoon to myself.
yay!

i've been discouraged about my job but had a good talk with my dad the other night, who gave me encouragement and ideas for future endeavors. it's so good to have a father on earth who knows me, i mean really knows me, and my strengths and weaknesses and interests and giftings; so that when he gives me advice, it is actually helpful and i know i can trust it because he knows me. thanks dad! i love you!

today i went to lunch with the resource specialist from my school. we picked up sandwiches and then ate them on sunset cliffs as we enjoyed the 74 degree day and the beautiful blue ocean. we ended up staying for over an hour because we didn't have kids to get back to, and we deserved it, gosh darn it! it was so refreshing and wonderful and an answer to prayers, really. it was windy and warm and perfect!

if you have read matt's blog, you know that we scored tickets to the U2 concert, (after our own unsuccessful hours of trying) through one matt's coworkers! yay!!! U2 is one of three bands on my list of things to do/see in my lifetime (the other 2 concerts are beastie boys and travoltas, in case you were wondering). but U2 is the very first album i ever got (mare-insert cheesy sigh) so i've loved them since 5th grade and can NOT wait to see them live!!!!! and the show is on april 2, a saturday, so that makes it even better--we can totally enjoy it and not stress out about having to work the next day!

some other good shows coming up here soon:
mates of state
pinback
ambulance ltd/autolux (with mare and justin)
decemberists OR ash-they're playing the same night at different venues (it's a toss up, i've seen ash and they give such an excellent show, but i'd like to see the decemberists, because i hear their influence in justin's music) either way, these shows are also going on when mare and justin are here as well!

i made 3 cute bowls in pottery class this week. all i have to do now is glaze and fire them--hopefully they come out okay---and then i'll be giving some fun gifts that i can actually be sort of proud of and that you don't have to pretend aren't ugly. i've been on the potter's wheel and it is so relaxing, yet concentration-requiring--i am actually getting the hang of it, but there really is a science to it! one false move and the whole thing can collapse (which happened to me twice on tuesday-ha! so funny to see a big misshapen blobby spinning around in circles!).

i need to get started on my adventure scrapbook! so many things to record and remember. thank goodness i've had some good travel journaling! EXAMPLE: as some of you know, mary and i are doing a 100k bike ride in santa cruz this may. and i remembered that matt and i camped at a great campground (with an ocean view) near santa cruz a couple of summers ago on our vacation up the coast. it turns out that the campground is only 4 miles away from where the race starts! so mare and i decided to do that, since it will be our last event for awhile. so i looked up in my travel journal to see what i had written about it and it turns out i actually recorded the exact campsite (#27-ha!) where we stayed, just in case we would ever stay there again. so it pays to be specific in the journaling is all i'm trying to say...

stay where you are
i'm right behind you
i'm always looking
i may not be the one, that's true
but i'm trying, dontcha know?
-ambulance ltd

welp, i'm finally blogging!
let's see, a lot has happened since i last blogged:
first of all, we went to seattle, which we loved. some highlights included:
-pike's place market (you know, the famous one where they throw the fish and all). it was actually a pretty large market with several floors of shops, stands, and restaurants. i bought a great necklace there in the shape of a swirl-yay!
-the cavs game--so much fun. plus, we had VIP seats so that meant we were able to go in this VIP room during halftime and get free drinks, soft pretzels, sandwiches, etc. so fun!!! plus, we were sitting next to two other cavs fans and we were the only 4 yelling in the arena some times. and matt was so excited and i love to see him like that.
-the ferry ride to bainbridge island. it was sort of misty out and it had been raining so matt and i had the entire upper (outdoor) deck to ourselves. we could see the mountains and the islands through the mist and it was such a smooth ride. it was actually pretty surreal and very romantic.
-our anniversary dinner at a restaurant called "serafina's", which was beautiful and everything about it was perfect!
-the Experience Music Project, basically a pop music museum with really great artifacts like handwritten lyrics from the beatles on hotel stationary, part of jimi hendrix's guitar that he burned and smashed at woodstock, etc.

we also had some amusing moments:
-on the plane ride there, one of the flight attendants told the people in front of us that her brother used to play guitar for air supply. and she was still pretty excited about it. of course we snickered to each other!
-once we were on the bus and a man with some mental health issues got on and started talking loudly about how he had lost everything just yesterday and now he was heading to church and maybe we don't believe him but he really was heading to church and would the good people on the bus be willing to help him out? and he started scanning the bus and looked straight at matt (who was just growing a beard), pointed, and said, "i know YOU can't help me", and looked for another person to ask. so AMAZING!!!! we really didn't get solicited by the homeless while we were there for that very reason--matt looked like an unsavory character himself!!!!

so we had such a fun time and would love to go back someday!

but now we're home and as matt said, we've had some great weather and have been enjoying the outdoors. we have also been taking some great bike rides together, which has been fun. it's great to finally have an athletic activity that we are both interested in and pretty evenly matched!

also, i started my second pottery class and i've been attempting to throw some pots/bowls/anything on the wheel. needless to say, it is extremely difficult but very therapeutic when successful. and the items look better than making them purely by hand. we'll see if i get a couple decent items from this class.

oh yeah, we're looking for a new car and you would not believe these car salesmen--the things they say are so ridiculous. this one dude raved on and on about how great our credit was and when i told him that we were waiting for our tax return so we could have a bigger downpayment, he tried to convince me to post date a check for 6 weeks later. when i refused, he asked why i didn't feel comfortable with that!!! i had to remind him that we had good credit for a good reason--we don't write checks for money we don't have!!!!! duh!

welp, i know i should probably say more after not blogging for so long but i'm tired.
so i'm outie.

happy belated birthday ryan!!!!!

well, if you read matt's blog you know that we're heading to seattle this weekend. yay! i'm so excited!!! our friend eddie used to live in seattle and he put together a numbered list of places he and his wife loved to go to--and even included a map with correponding numbers and exact locations! we'll probably plan our little itinerary on the plane ride up there. (we have our tickets on alaska airlines, since we'll be using that airline in the future...:) some things we're going to do for sure are go to pike's place market (where they throw the fish), the space needle, the EMP (experience music project)-our friends gave matt tickets for his birthday, and, of course, the cleveland cavs vs. the seattle supersonics game on sunday night. look for us on tv if you get the game--we have floor seats across from the cavs bench (approximately)!

justin, i was so freaked out by your twin peaks blog. seriously scary.

welp, just wanted to get a quick blog in before work so i must be going.
have a great weekend everyone!

ouch.
i'm sore.

that's what i get for being a fat lazy pig and not running for a few weeks. and then doing a hardcore fast workout so i can determine my maximum heart rate so i can start using my heart monitor so i can start training more effectively. i think i figured out that my max heart rate is 198 during running. apparently, my max heart rate during biking and swimming will be lower. i'll keep you all posted, i know you're dying to know.

well, a new year's resolution i have is to do as many athletic events as i can this year. and be healthy and injury-free while i do so. on the list for this spring/summer:
1. march-marchmadness trail running 5k race (san diego, by myself?)
2. april- 30 mile (50k) bike race with mary in alpine, CA
3. may- metric century (100k/62 miles) bike ride (santa cruz with mary)
4. july- firecracker 5000 (5k) (hilton head island with ryan)

this week has been surprisingly good, for my first week back.
i decided i have no complaints about life.
that's a great place to be, in my brain and in my life, i also decided.

matt and i started watching "supersize me", thanks to mary's (and justin's?) suggestion. wow. it is SICK. everyone on earth needs to watch that movie!!! matt and i are feeling so convicted about our eating habits now. on my list of things to accomplish in my lifetime (before even watching this documentary): eat healthy 90% of the time. supersize just knocked this item up a few priority notches, i must say.

justin, i could have watched your shorts all night. i was so disappointed when they ended. especially the evening portion. it actually made me feel cold and reminded me of the smell of the winter air and the feeling of tightness in the lungs. but it was peaceful and reminded me of late nights in college when i loved bowling green.
more, please!

welp, i'm tired so i'm going to lay down.
rydogg, be expecting something in the mail soon!

so this is the new year
and i don't feel any different
the clanking of crystal
explosions off in the distance
-death cab

it's true. i don't feel any different. still happy and content with everything (will there be changes with my job at some point? maybe, but i've changed my attitude and it's just change. i don't have to make up an excuse to change what i'm doing.) so maybe i do feel different (like mikey). i sure havent' felt like blogging lately, but here i am.

it's our 7th wedding anniversary!!!
wow.
we're definitely where we hoped to be in 7 years.
sort of surprised that there are no kids here yet--ha! but fine and content with that.
but happy that we've grown and changed together.
GOD IS SO GOOD is the only thing i can say.

are we where you thought we'd be 7 years ago???? or didn't you think about our future? probably not. except for maybe parents...

anyhoo, i made a fantastic dinner (if i do say so myself!) of steak, homemade mashed potatoes, asparagus, and bread with cheese. we have cake that i will eat for dessert at some point.

speaking of cake, we're having a party for matt's 30th this saturday. our usual friends are coming + some others + some peeps from LA. i'm making tortilla soup, sangria, and fruit pizza. yum!!!

we just got a call from aunt deedee and uncle bob tonight saying they're coming to visit the 3rd week of march! yay! and then i have spring break the 4th week (mare, do we still have plans? i hope you'll come for an sd run--or are we doing our own bike/camping tour? yes!!! so fun!!!), then kevin and emily come out the last week--hooray! so fun to have family and friends who are able to come to our home and stay awhile. so it looks like march is already booked--let this be a lesson to the rest of you: you'd better get your reservations in early!!!!

quick note about christmas/new years:
such a wonderful, quality time with family and friends. too short, of course. but a ton of laughing, great food, fun games, white christmas, fantastic chats, good workout at the ymca, and fun martinis from dad good. we love you all and loved being with you this christmas. we miss you all already. thankfully some of you already have plans to come out and see us!!!! :)

happy new year, everyone.