also i wanted to ditto matt's expression of these lyrics
which reflect how we feel living out here:

so here i am
it’s in my hands
and i’ll savor every moment of this
so here i am
alive at last
and i’ll savor every moment of this
-the used

saturday YEEEEEEEEEEHHHHAAAAAAAAAWWW!!!!
our christmas break has started!!!!
no more school for 16 whole days!!! yeah!
i love being in the public school system!
and matt has all the time off because he worked his behind off these past few weeks. and now i'm letting him rest and sleep it all off. i may not see him until 3:00 this afternoon, but this is what we get when he works 15 and 16 hour days.

we started to watch "13 conversations about one thing" last night but i fell asleep about 10 minutes into it. i don't know how far matt made it. i'll try again today, along with jim carey's "the grinch"--a new tradition in my family because such a fun christmasy movie.

i need to go to the bank today but i'm afraid of all the wacko holiday shoppers! however, i can't put it off any longer, due to our fun travels coming up here on monday! can't wait to see you all, family!

michelle, i had a thought-i can't wait until you guys get a house and you try to get on both "while you were out" and "trading spaces". you'd better make pretty quick friends with one of your neighbors. and also, for michelle and anyone else who was following "the amazing race", did you have a sick feeling in your stomach when flo and zach won? sickening.

matt and i had our little christmas celebration here-well, actually, he gave me his gift. i already had his gifts shipped to my parents house--anyways, he gave me an awesome mountain bike!!! i am so pumped!!! i can't wait to get out there and ride!!! but first we need helmets before we go anywhere real... and another cool thing is that there is a san diego mountain bike club that meets every saturday to ride a different trail.

things i'm looking forward to this break: (in no particular order)
1. relaxing and not doing any work
2. seeing family
3. seeing my friend heidi
4. playing the lego game with michael and justin--come on guys, new famiy tradition, complete with our own songs!
5. sleeping sleeping sleeping
6. yummmy food face-stuffing time! the following items will focus on particular kinds of food... you can see how messed up i am, folks...
7. trotter's
8. polleye's breadsticks
9. skyline dip
10. tiger bakery's hummous, pita, shish tawook, lentil rice and fava beans oh my gosh i can not wait so yummy!

okay, enough rambling from me.
peace and peace out!
tracey

how could i forget the funniest movie of the year,
my big fat greek wedding?
i don't know. but that is definately on the list, replacing spiderman.

funny quotes coming out of everyone's mouths today....
a random little girl on the playground: "why do you come and take dominic?"
me: "because i'm his speech teacher."
girl: "can you speech me today?"
me: "no, i don't see every kid-just some."
girl: "please can you speech me?"
me: "no honey, i'm sorry."
girl: "but i want to be speeched!"
at this point, i was so weirded out by the use of "speech" as a VERB that i ran for my life!

and about an hour later i found myself saying,
"okay, when i count to three there will be no more pirates allowed in this room-only little boys."

this was in response to the number of loud "arghs!" i was hearing.
and later, one of them let out an "argh" and another one corrected him, saying, "hey! she said no more pirates in this room!"

now that is a quality day!!
only one more day of work and then nothing until jan 6th!
bye people--see you soon!
tracey

i started to write something yesterday, but i kept getting distracted and never did finish more than the two lines i started out with. so i decided to scrap it and start over today. i think it just seemed like one more item of "work" i had to complete and it was TOO MUCH for a monday!!!

also, mike, i have to agree with mary...
please never again with the star trek.
at least not out loud.
or in public.
please keep that skeleton in the closet.
heehee!

some of the top movies i have so far for this year are (no particular order): the royal tenenbaums, gosford park, the count of monte cristo, amelie, spider-man, y tu mamá también, signs, punch drunk love, monsoon wedding, and a preemtive lord of the rings: the two towers.

i'm always in AWE of how great God is.
when i was offered this job, they warned me about a "high-profile case", in which the district had been sued by a family and i was to see their daughter. i prayed about it, decided to take the job anyways (since i was confident in my skills and that i would just do my job and that they couldn't complain if i worked my hardest). i also prayed that i would just love their daughter and that the family would keep an open mind.
remember how god says he will do EXCEEDINGLY, ABUNDANTLY more than we could ever ask for or dream of? well, once again, he has. i was in a meeting with the parents and the team of 12 professionals who work with their daughter and i was sharing her progress and showed a technique which i felt i would like to implement for the rest of the year. not a big deal, i just looked at her weaknesses and developed a program to increase her vocabulary by using her strengths. and get this, mom said, "this is inspiring. you are an inspiration."
is that unbelievable or what??? this is a parent who was so unhappy with services 18 months ago that she sued the school district. beyond all of that, God has put in me an incredible LOVE for this child. she challenges me and i look forward to tuesdays and fridays because i get to work with her.
EXCEEDINGLY, ABUNDANTLY...

3 more days of work!
6 more days until we go home!

quote of the day from a kid:
"do you live here?" (in reference to my classroom).
oh lord, i would hope not!

in the air there's a feeling of christmas...
-silver bells

bye PEEPS (that's for you, dad)
tracey

yahoooooo friday!
thank God!

the week seemed to fly by until today, which dragged on and on.

i am waiting for my friend libby to pick me up for our school christmas party.
there's supposed to be a pretty major spread.
so why, you may ask, am i eating chips and salsa like it's going out of style?
i don't know.
no self control, maybe?

i am glad to see that everyone has been faithful with their blogs lately.
oops! did i say EVERYone? i meant everyone except mom and casey!
but mare, that's scary about the attempted break-in. do you guys have an alarm system?

i need some more ideas of movies for 2002. i should have saved all my ticket stubs, like the clever justin, but i haven't, and i forget what all i saw this year. if anyone can throw anything my way, it would be greatly appreciated! and justin, a nice christmas idea for me would be a copy of your 175 song mix! just a thought...
well people, i'm off to my party.
tracey

well, it's thursday again
and may i comment on that fact
that we have not heard from mom
in a whole week?
come on mom, you started out so strong!
fight the good fight!

whoo. rough week at work for both matt and i (or is it me? i could never get the grammar rule down for that one). he's working like a madman, day and night, which ends up actually being okay after tomorrow. that is his deadline and it will all be over, and he will have enough comp time to go away for two weeks for christmas and still get paid for it! i cancelled more therapy this afternoon to get my junk done, and i finally am starting to feel better about it--just a ton of stuff to do and deadlines to meet before christmas break...

6 MORE DAYS OF SCHOOL!!!! WOOOHOOOOOO!!!!
and my school christmas party is tomorrow night.
i'm not torturing matt with that one, either.
my friend libby and i are going together (without our men).
but later that night matt and i are going to a work party for him--i tolerate the torture. plus, i have a big mouth and like to socialize, so it can't really be considered torture for me.

by the way, dad, thanks for incorporating "hark!" into your blog-it made my day!
mare, so funny with the "michelle voice" thing. my dad, being a phys ed teacher for 20 years, had a loud voice for a long time (still gets loud at certain funny and predictable times) and we used to call it his "gym voice". i have a parent who tells her child to use his "restaurant voice" when he's being too loud. i still prefer to tell them to use their "inside voices"--still funny to me all the time-i know it shouldn't be, i'm a speech therapist for crying out loud!!! oh well.

apparently, i find things funny that shouldn't really be funny at my age, if i were truly the "responsible adult" that i am expected to be. for example, we have stairs at our school with nice, slippery railings. one day, i was walking along and these two little boys were sliding on down the rails on their little bottoms. i was amused, of course and just watched them. suddenly, the gym teacher came around the corner, looked at them, looked at me, and started yelling at them. this was the point where i came back to reality and said weakly, "...yeah boys...you'd better stop..." and quickly kept on walking by while she disciplined them and glared at me. heehee! come on, THEY'RE JUST HAVING FUN!!

i'm going to start my year end review tonight while matt is at work. i have some pictures ready and some words in my head. in fact, i think i'll start it right now!
love you all...
tracey

hello everyone...
it's tuesday and i actually cancelled some therapy today so i could get paperwork done and phone calls returned during my workday instead of after school or at home! i'm pretty proud of myself, i felt guilty for a minute but then i relaxed and realized it is not a life or death situation if my kids miss one session with me!

matt is playing basketball right now, hopefully his ankle has healed enough, otherwise i'm going to see him walking back through the door in a couple of minutes.

and now for some personal notes...
mare--nice long entry (it's about time!) and my sentiments are the same on moving back to ohio: not unless i hear an audible voice from the Lord!!! okay, okay, or the still, small voice of the holy spirit--but i'm not going to be listening for that for a very long time. and YAY on maybe getting a st. bernard puppy!!! that will be so fun!!! would you get it after you get home from your christmas travels then? thought of any names yet? how about cyrus or sedrick? those are good dog names :) heehee!
justin-i'll bring home the new sixpence cd at christmas and you can burn it from me.

also, has anyone heard "all american rejects" song called "swing, swing"? very catchy and fun--check it out.

we're getting pumped for christmas break!!! ahhhh, two weeks off-YAY! matt made the mistake of taunting me about my gift and gave me enought hints to keep me bothering him about it until we come--he's giving it to me early and i can hardly wait!!!

quote of the day from a kid:
i was doing therapy with my voice kids (kids who are loud and abuse their voices so much that little blisters and calluses form on their vocal folds, creating a constantly raspy voice) this morning and i said, "who saw someone abusing their voice this week?" (a technique to get them tuned into voice abuse) and one of my little boys said, "jackson was screaming on the playground! and i told him that if he did it again, he'd have to get surgery on his vocal cords!!!"
yikes-can't wait until i get a phone call from an angry parent about that one!
i have a busy day tomorrow--time to get mentally prepared...
tracey






















dad-i want to see the propaganda!!!

oh yeah, michael, i meant to say that i love the lyrics for "how he watches me sleep"
did you write that? i want to hear it.

this weekend turned out to be very relaxing yet productive-a first in a long time due to amount of guests and traveling for this edwards family! on sunday i relaxed, played some bing crosby, nat king cole, dean martin, frank sinatra, ottmar liebert, and over the rhine christmas music (by the way, is there a sixpence christmas album that anyone knows about?) and made a pot of vanilla coffee. i turned on our christmas tree lights, buckled down, and made-yes, MADE-our christmas cards. can you believe i made them, wrote personal notes in them, AND have mailed most of them out already? hope you like them, people!
i also did a major clean up job on the apartment and read another book. ahhhhh....

can anyone help explain my obsession + hatred of snowflakes and snow? i have noticed some contradictions in my behavior and quite frankly, it confuses me. i hate cold weather, which was part of the reason we moved, yet my christmas tree is covered with silver snowflakes and my favorite christmas songs are "i'm dreaming of a white christmas", "let it snow", and "winter wonderland". my theory is that i like it from a distance but i don't want to be near it (except for when we come home for christmas). any other theories on my twisted brain???

justin, i also like the idea of the year end review. i might do a short version but i don't think i'm going to have time for an elaborate production (you never know, though, once i get into something i can really get obsessed!). i love the idea of everyone writing something and exchanging it--what a fun tradition to start! what sort of format is this going to be? is this going to be modeled after something in particular? or are we just being creative?

deep thought for the day:
i wish "hark" was still a word that people used in everyday conversation. i think it would lighten things up a bit!
goodbye folks!
tracey

i love saturdays!
i slept strangely last night and have sort of a stiff neck.
matt has left me for the weekend to go see his friend rob, who lives in l.a. this dude wants matt to drive his motorcycle so i have been freaking out! so has matt, so i don't think i have much to worry about. and now for some peace and quiet and reading and shopping and hiking for me.

well, we went to see jesus christ superstar and it was pretty good. sebastian bach, however, was not quite convincing in his role of jesus, as he repeatedly swung his hair in rock star fashion and gave more than a few glam rock scrams. there was a funny/glitzy scene with herod, a powerful scene where jesus was healing the sick street people, and the woman who played mary magdelene had an incredible voice. other than that, the show was fair. we are going to see "stomp" in march, though, with better seats hopefully! we'd also like to go see our future sister in law, emily, in her debut in a tennessee williams play in columbus, OH.....

as far as christmas plans go,
we'll be in BG on the evening of the 29th.
matt wants to get together with some of our friends on new years eve
and i have an afternoon/evening planned with heidi on the 2nd.
other than that, we're pretty flexible!

i have all of our christmas shopping done!
what a relief, now i can relax and not fight the crowds.
by the way, if anyone needs another christmas idea for me and matt, we would like a u.s. national parks pass...

i'm still really christmasy over here and
frank sinatra is in the hizouse!!!!!
welp people, i'm off.
tracey

how is it thursday already?
how is it december already?
i guess this is what old people talk about when they say that time goes by faster and faster. i guess i'm old now. oh well, i can live with that!

matt and i are going to see the musical "jesus christ superstar" tonight!
apparently sebastian bach from the former glam rock band skid row is going to be playing jesus, so that is hilarious! reviews have been good, so it should RULE!
i have nothing to wear, really, so i hope people going to the theater here don't go all out. otherwise i'm going to be a slobby frumpy blob compared to all. and tonight is one of the rare moments i get to see matt get all dressed up-yay! it has been awhile since that has happened. (i can hardly blame him:)

if you read matt's blog, you will notice that he tried to bargain with me about this event, saying that tonight would now equal all of the sports i have watched with him-HA! the thing is, when put in the situation of watching a play or a musical, matt really enjoys himself. however, thinking about going to a musical, having to tell another GUY he's going to a musical, somehow takes away from his manhood--don't let him fool you, people! he really does like the theater!

funny quote from a kid that i didn't know:
i was walking out of my classroom and a kindergartener was walking into his classroom next door to me. he flung open his door, caught sight of me, backtracked a couple of steps, and yelled, "i've got a big belly!"
"i see that," i said.
even though i didn't. he was tiny. but somehow he felt the need to yell that piece of information across the courtyard to me while he lifted up his shirt.

i am a kid magnet.
they come up to me out of nowhere and share
IMPORTANT INFORMATION
with me.
apparently, this is a phenomenon which occurs with my mom as well,
so i come by it naturally, you see...

i must go and rummage through my closet to find something decent to wear tonight
and to make my husband some dinner.
bye bye!
tracey

whew! finally back to the blogging!
after a totally fun time in las vegas, matt and i have had a difficult time transitioning back to the real world of working and being responsible. sometimes i think it is harder to go back to work after having extra days off (besides the norm of sat and sun). not that it isn't worth it, but sometimes i'd rather slam it all in and have a huge vacation in the summer. ooops. i actually do already have that! oh well, no more complaining for me, then!

a quick vegas summary for all (for more in depth info, go to mary's blog at www.casemare.blogspot).
thursday matt and i got in (after a 6 and a half hour slowpoke drive) around 3:00 pm and enjoyed a yummy thanksgiving dinner provided by casey and mary!
some highlights in list form were:
1. ESPN zone game time with friendly competition
2. the volcano eruption at the mirage (we could actually feel the heat!)
3. the fountains at the bellagio (incredible, truly)
4. the hike at red rock canyon-very beautiful and peaceful (plus, matt, mary and i broke the rules and went off the beaten path to explore a cave and attempt to climb a cliff)
5. best dinner buffet of my life at bally's--SO MUCH YUMMY STUFF!!!
6. winning with the quarter slot machines
7. the paris casino-really cool ceilings
8. new york, new york casino-felt like what i would imagine the streets of new york city to be like--complete with the buildings, brick roads, trees, and steaming sewers.
9. watching matt at the $1 blackjack table
10. the SCARIEST ride of my life on top of the stratosphere, being propelled straight up and down at an insane speed--i've never felt less in control of my safety ever in my life. YET SO FUN!!!! mary and i were screaming at the top of our lungs!
11. having a fun, new adventure for a typically traditional holiday and being able to share it with mary and casey. (we missed the rest of you, though)...

and YAY mom! you're so brave to take on the computer!
good job on the blogspot-we look forward to hearing more from you!

matt and i decorated our christmas tree last night! now i am complete and ready to really get into the christmas spirit. i have a ton of shopping done and i'm sad that i have to wait until we arrive in ohio to wrap the gifts (partially because most of my gifts have been shipped there, and partially because we're not allowed to take wrapped presents on the plane).

can you all believe it is 70 degrees here??? i started giggling to myself (i know, people were probably thinking "mental health issues" but i don't care!) today when i was walking out to lunch and saying "today is DECEMBER 2nd!!!", and picturing what i would have been going through back in ohio. SUCH A GREAT FEELING!!! i will not ever have to warm up my car before work here, i will not have to scrape my windshield, i will not have to wear boots and then change into shoes once i get to work, i will not have to freeze and shiver and scream because it is so cold. does anyone know how much this means to me???

i'm trying to decide whether to make chili tonight or go to baja fresh to pick up some chicken quesadillas that matt loves. i'm feeling tired. getting take out might be my reward for working so hard today!!!! :) yes, i think it will be my reward! thanks for helping my decide, people!
off i go, then...
tracey

okee dokee
all better now-
thanks to the lord
and some self-talk
and realization/acceptance
that i have no control over the situation.
whew!
i also went down to cabrillo national monument after work today to watch the sun begin to set over the ocean-so peaceful and brought me back down to earth/reminded me of the bigger picture. there were some surfers who were catching great waves down there, too.

matt and i are getting ready for our las vegas thanksgiving!!!
a much needed vacation for the workaholics we have been lately.
matt's boss let everyone off at noon today!!! i'm so jealous!
but now i'm home and we are getting pumped up!

list of things to do while in vegas/vicinity:
1. go hiking in red rock canyon
2. hoover dam
3. see a pirate show at "treasure island"
4. ride the roller coaster on top of the stratosphere
5. pig out at a yummy thanksgiving buffet
6. pig out in our room with our own food
7. relax by the pool
8. check out some of the casinos
9. go to medival times!
10. read some of my new books...

oh yeah, it was a big day for me today,
as i have a new, official, san diego public library card.
yes, it is true excitement over here.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE!!!
tracey

sorry for the emo entry
i promise i'll be better soon

what a weird day i had today.
long story short:
i had a 3 and a half hour meeting with a team of "professionals" (although with some of the behavior i witnessed today, i would not classify them as professional) and a parent about a child who is emotionally disturbed; including episodes of psychosis, delusions, and self-mutilating behaviors. it was so tense and so awkward and so emotionally draining that my stomach was literally in a hard knot for the entire meeting and remains to be so even now at 8:00 pm. i can not believe the words that were exchanged or the level of volume at which those words were exchanged. and it was all because the school is fighting to NOT give this seriously disturbed child the services he needs!!!

i know that God has a plan for the compassion He has given me
but i grieve so deeply and feel so much pain in the process.

at least i waited until i got home before i cried.

i've never longed for heaven more.

messiah
i know you are near
within without me
hold me near

messiah
i know you are near
catching me carrying
this beautiful mess

escape the pain
within a room somewhere
escape the pain
so deep inside
there's all i have-nothing
no mountain to find
-sixpence

is there some way
i could separate this feeling
from memory
disconnect myself from it?
is there some where
to occupy emotions
a room to keep
my rage away from you?
just tell me when
these hopeless days are over
then i'll open my eyes
see my new self rise
-sixpence

tracey

well, i ended up driving up to the mountains and going for a solo hike today (compliments of my birthday presents from mom and dad and mary-backpack and hike book, respectively). it was a beautiful 7.2 miles, including one pit stop...and i only saw 4 people in the 3 hours i was out there. it was beautiful and sunny and warm. i even saw a few trees with colored leaves, reminding me of that midwest fall sort of thing. ahhh... what a perfect day...

thank God i didn't see a certain sign until i was finished with my hike. it involved an illustration of a mountain lion and a short blurb on how they live here and are rarely seen, but are known to attack without being provoked. phew! i'm going to follow casey's advice and buy a really big knife for next time...any recommendations?

dad-YES on going to tanzania!! how many times in your life to you get invited to go there???

matt and i are going to see starflyer and pedro the lion play tonight at casbah's, which is about 4 minutes away from us--yay! i love not having to drive to detroit or cleveland to see bands i like. and what i love even more is seeing them smoke free!!! i am trying to get him to go out for mexican, but he is currently having a bowel battle with the wings he ate earlier. also, yeah OSU!!! now i can have a good weekend since my husband will be in a great mood!
be blessed everyone
tracey

i was walking down the steps today at work
and it was sunny and warm and beautiful.
i arrived at the bottom of the steps at the basketball courts
and began to talk with a teacher.
3 minutes later the sky turned white and he said,
"look at the fog rolling in--isn't it beautiful?"
and it was.
like heaven on earth--
clouds floating across the dirt basketball court
and rolling up the hill to my speech room!

what a fun day!
yet the surprise was (i'm sure) nothing compared to my family's surprise at the 3 feet of snow in bowling green! wow am i glad i'm not there! although i bet wauseon schools would have been cancelled today--no chance of that ever for me now! yet i love my job so much and it is motivating and interesting and challenging enough that i don't have to wish for snow days anymore!

best quote today from a kid:
while we were playing jenga, it was his turn and the tower started tipping and swaying. (for those of you who haven't played jenga, you remove and stack wooden blocks to make a tower taller. if you cause the tower to fall, you lose!)
anyhow, he managed to remove a piece and place it on top without knocking the tower over. then he clasped his hands together, looked up at the sky and said excitedly, "thank you God! i love you, God-of course, everybody loves you-but i love you even more now!!!"

now for my christmas obsession update:
i'm listening to over the rhine's christmas album "the darkest night of the year" right now. later, i'm going to ikea to buy some christmas decorations and some baby lights for a little baby tree that i bought for my office. everyone should be proud of me, as i have resisted the urge to set up my christmas tree so far!!! i'm going to
stay strong until after thanksgiving, i promise! also, i started making our christmas cards-i hope you all will like them. those won't be sent out for awhile, though...

mare, i didn't understand your last blog-are you having problems buying airline tickets for christmas? i am with you on the catching up on sleep celebration for christmas break! other missions (besides the usual family events) i have are: go to trotters, get polleye's breadsticks and see some friends.

i'm out, folks.
tracey

it was 86 degrees yesterday and 83 degrees today!
YEAH!!!
the major news today is:
i finally have a room where i can do speech therapy at my one school (i'm there 1 and a half days each week. they are under major construction and so far i have been having to use the nurse's office or the teacher's lounge or the hallway. so yay!!! i'm so pumped and i'm going to decorate it next week!
i plan to put up some navy blue curtains hanging from the ceiling and tacked to the wall, with white lights up, and with sparkly stars hanging from the ceiling. each star is going to have a picture of one of my kids on it and they will be my "speech stars!!!" therefore, i am pumped and it will be an awesome room if i ever get some time to get it done. it is a huge room and i have to share it with the counselor and the psychologist, who are never there on the days that i am, so no big woop.

yeah, i said "no big woop", what are you going to do about it?

anyhoo....
can you people believe that it is almost thanksgiving???
next week is a 3-day week and then it's off to las vegas for a white trash thanksgiving with mary and casey (matt's sister and her husband)! and yes, we're going to be at an all you can eat hogfest thanksgiving buffet on turkey day, for all of you who are wondering!!! also, we're going to take a little day trip to red rock canyon, which is right outside of vegas, to go hiking for the day. unfortunately, i hear that vegas is a smoke-fest and that is bad news for moi! so getting out will be cool.
mare and case, i think we're going to just drive up early in the morning on thanksgiving day, due to insane amounts of traffic, so we'll probably be there around lunch time (between 12:30 and 1:30). we are pumped!!!

welp, i'm out everyone.
it's time for 2 large cheese pizzas for $10.99 at papa john's-dinner tonight and lunches for the next week-yum.
tracey

hello gang!
i am doing some laundry that matt started before he went to play basketball.
so i thought i might as well give an update while i waited for the stuff to dry!

matt and i went to a dinner party last night.
it involved people with whom he works and it ended up being a really fun time.
these people have an AMAZING, large house with an actual full bar and incredible artwork (all painted by the guy and his parents!). oh yes, they also have a sweet, laid-back dalmation who loved matt--yay! i can't wait to get a dog someday now that he (sort of) likes them!!!
by the way, we were also the youngest ones there, by a good 15-20 years, so that was interesting, too.

i'm planning on a hike this weekend, to utilize some birthday presents i received (including a backpack and a book of hikes in san diego county--a shout out to the family members who provided me with these things: you know who you are!!!). however, i may be going alone, since i will be losing my husband to the ohio state game this weekend. boohoo...
but this book tells the best trails to take during different times of the year. so i will perhaps be traveling inland a little ways to the mountains to check out the beautiful fall colors!

and now for the messages to family and friends:
grammy-do you have any christmas ideas for you or granddad?
oh, justin-can i put my order in for one of those cd's also?
mary-i am with you on the sixpence/christmas thing. i always seem to hear them in cycles-at christmas and then again in the summer-they are the ultimate musing beach music for some reason (especially "this beautiful mess").
michelle-you'll see your pictures when we see my dad's christmas list or matt's rosenberg's cd...

now for the quote of the day from a kid:
i was walking into my school from the courtyard the other morning. there were two sliding glass doors that were open just wide enough for me to slip through. so instead of using my hands to open them wider, i tried to just barge on through. of course, my hip caught it and i made sort of a banging sound and said "ow!" as i made my way in. i continued on my mission (of who knows what--apparently too important to stop and open a door) and i heard a little voice behind me and turned around to see a cute little blond 5 year old.
"that's why i'm glad i'm a kid," she said.

ah yes, the benefits of being a child...
snack time
nap time
fitting into small places
ahhhhh....
farewell people,
i'm off to dream of the days when i was a child...
tracey

well, it's official: i am now 27 years old. i'm doing okay with it.
this weird phenomenon occurs whenever someone asks my age.
i have to pause and count, because my instant answer would be "22".
i wonder if this happens to anyone else?

i celebrated yesterday by going to a restaurant called "forever fondue" and
matt and i pigged out! (not unlike a certain pig egreeting i received which encouraged me to do so!)
then we came home and watched "y tu mama tambien", which was accurately described by justin as being raw, emotional, and hilarious as well. and definately foreign.
today i'm going christmas shopping-one of my favorite things!
i love christmas. i have to make myself wait until after thanksgiving to put up my tree--it's torture!!!
i've been listening to frank sinatra's christmas cd, buying little ornaments and gift wrap, and getting on the holiday CHEERWAGON!

so i must get going---
tracey