finally! i'm back.
sorry if my opening line has been annoying you for the past week or so.
we've just been a little bit busy is all...

had a great visit with my parents--we fit sooooo much stuff in!!! they came in on saturday and we showed them around ocean beach, my elementary school, and sunset cliffs. then we went to shelter island and walked around the marina while my dad marveled at all of the sailboats. after that, we went home and packed a picnic and took it back to sunset cliffs just in time to watch the sun set. ahhhh...

sunday: it was cloudy in the morning and i was getting ready to pout about it but decided to work out with my mom at sunset cliffs. we went about 3 miles and the sky cleared right up--so beautiful!!! so we decided to head up the coast to wahoo's for lunch, la jolla's seal beach (so many cute, fat seals just squirming around. we were able to get really close to some who were lounging on the rocks), then on to a hike at torrey pines, and up to encinitas for another sunset.

monday: yuck! a storm came in and annoyed the crap out of everyone!!! but matt went off to work and my parents and i headed for the maritime museum (which is housed in this huge old ship with sails that remind me of the dawn treader!), also browsed around seaport village for awhile. at one point i yelled into the wind, "I'M NOT IN BOWLING GREEN!!!" then it was naptime for the cranky heads.... we picked matt up at work and went out for happy hour and dinner at fred's mexican-yum. back to matt's office for the tour of mr. technical writer and then my mom and i had to go sandal shopping while the boys went home and watched sports.

tuesday: matt finally got a day off work and we went to the zoo--the best were the cute pandas! i wish i could have hugged those softy guys! we made it home in time for the sunset again and then off to the field, our favorite irish restaurant for an epic evening. we got to sit right by the glowing fireplace and had a very cool irish waiter (who became my dad's best friend within minutes!). followed that up with some coffee and then snooze time!

wednesday: dad set off for his own adventure on the orion sailboat for the day (had some titanic moments on the bow of the boat, he reported). my mom and i went to old town and had a fun tour with an interesting tour guide and then ate tortillas from a vendor on the street (yummy cinnamon and strawberry tortillas--so good!). we went to the tidal pools at cabrillo national monument and saw a million hermit crabs--we were hoping for some starfish, but they were nowhere to be found. then we headed over to the OB farmer's market (they close a main street down and all the local farmers, florists, and fishermen--and other random people-come in and sell their goods). i bought some flowers and vegetables and we came home and made a very fresh dinner out of our purchases!

thursday: went hiking in the anza-borrego desert --can you believe it was cold???? well, it was. at least for the first half hour of the hike. then the sun came out and it warmed up to about 70 degrees--totally not typical for springtime. we hiked to palm canyon, an oasis in the middle of the desert--so beautiful and serene. we got home around 6 pm (got in yet another great sunset--best one all week!) and nobody felt like cooking so we went to fillipi's pizza grotto for chianti and pizza. my mom became obsessed with the meat sauce on her lasagna and bought some fresh sauce on an impulse. 5 minutes later she said, "how will i get this home on the plane?" thus, matt and i have become the proud owners of two containers of fresh spaghetti sauce!

friday: went to OB and sunset cliffs and my parents said goodbye to the ocean. then i dropped them off at the airport, came home, and collapsed. whew--fun and exhausting week!

we're heading out to bible study now so farewell for now.

hello everyone.
man, have we had a beautiful week! i'm choosing to ignore weather reports that say it will be cold and cloudy this whole weekend.
i just got back from running, and have a chiropractor's appt in a little bit so this will be short and sweet!

matt has been working his head off for the past month and a half--but especially this past week-11 and 12 hour days!!! so i haven't seen much of that guy around! thankfully, his deadline is friday, so it will ease up just in time for my parents to get here. and he's saved up nearly a week in overtime work, so he's got a few days off coming his way. we did get to see "bend it like beckham" on friday. and-sorry dad!- i have to agree with matt: i give it a C, maybe C- even. music was great, accents were really cool, and there were some funny parts. but it was incredibly predictable, fairly boring, and i could not stand that white english girl--anyone else feeling my pain???

only one more day until spring break!!!! and not a day too soon-it's been so hard to get out of bed this whole week! and for really no reason at all, other than i just need a break.

i booked a trip to fly home to cincy from june 28-july 12th--yay! i'll be staying with my grammy and granddad for a night or two; hopefully catch up with kevin and emily while i'm in columbus; then on to my parents', where we'll spend some quality time; then heidi will come down for 4th of july weekend and we'll have girl time; and then my mom and i will have a baby shower for michelle on the 6th, so i'll get to see ryan and michelle, too! i'm packing it in! dad, maybe we'll have to have our kings island tradition on a day that mom has to work late!
as far as a summer trip for matt and i, who knows... we'd love to go to ireland, but the prices are really high right now. maybe if there is a great deal around june or july, we'll buy some tickets. if we stick around here, my vote is to drive up highway 1 and camp at various places along the coast.

best quote from a kid today:
"what happened to your toe?"
he was referring to my freak third toe, which is longer than both my big toe and second toe.
yeah, i'd like to know the answer to that, too. how bout it, Lord?

tracey

happy 50th birthday mom edwards!!!
it's your birthday in ohio (not for a few more hours here!)
it sounds like your party was a blast-can't wait to hear about it and see the pictures!

dad edwards, i think you would like denison witmer's music-it reminds me of a really acoustic jackson browne, not exactly like him but i get little glimpses here and there.
i tried to go to my friend's church this morning but got lost and finally ended up at a mall an hour later. therefore, i had a summer clothes shopping trip!!! yay! i used up the rest of my christmas gift card from mom and dad. matt worked all day today so i went for a run-though my body was telling me "no thank you, not today." however, i have been faithful with running about every other day. the best part is running through this natural park near us/sunset cliffs. all the spring wildflowers opened up and there are fields of yellow and white thigh high flowers everywhere!

last week of school before spring break!!! then only 8 weeks after that! then summer beach/travel/relaxation time!!!!
tracey

hello everyone-
a few quick things--everyone should read my sister-in-law michelle's blog (link is to the left) from today, which recreates an april fools day joke that my dad pulled-HILARIOUS!!! wow, dad good, you have TOTALLY outdone any joke you have ever pulled before--so funny!!!

mom edwards, what was in the box?

a fun evaluation with a kindergartener produced the following quote of the day:
(first of all, picture this tiny little boy with teeny glasses and the cutest voice you've ever heard)
me: so, ruben, how old are you?
ruben: i-i-i-i-i'm five (he stutters but is so darn cute while he does it!!!)
me: whoa, wow, 5 years old, huh?
ruben: a-a-and i can even see in the dark!
(apparently the age and ability to see in the dark are linked, in his mind...:)

a teacher and i have been witnessing to her aide and the teacher bought her a bible and she accepted the lord as her savior this week!!! yeah!! her name is lisa if someone would pray for her--lots of baggage coming with her and she's nervous that people in the church won't accept her. but she can't put down that bible--it's amazing to watch Christ working on her heart.

i still feel the moments when you came alive
like a poem about springtime
nothing to hide
-denison witmer

welp, i'm out of here-
i think matt and i may go to the corvette diner and then to watch that one indian movie (my big fat indian wedding-ha! but seems similar!).
tracey

hello
i'm sitting here listening to some acoustic denison witmer
thinking
remembering the best trip in the world that i took with matt and mary
when we decided to pack up and drive out to san diego last summer

lyrics from "miles"-

we’ll get in my car around 10:30 (12:00!) at night
it’s the biggest healing session that I’ve had for some years
the laughter and the driving and the letting go…

hold me my world is closing
help me to keep it open

and we feel the push of
Christ-directed life
the love-directed life
-denison witmer

what a perfect time that was
and how much fun we had with each other
and how we loved God for his created beauty
and were set free of things we were dealing with

and even more perfect that he put these dreams in our hearts
and fulfilled them. LORD you are amazing! i am overwhelmed...

anyhoo,
enough of that reminiscing! (did i spell that correctly?)
matt and i are getting ready for more visitors--my parents will be here in 8 days! we're excited to show them our lives and the things we love to do here! michelle, i can't believe your drama on the way back to the san fran aiport!!! i'm so glad you made it home sooner--worth that extra $25, eh?
oops, i have to go pick matt up from a long day/night of work. farewell...

quote from a fourth grade girl today:
"i have lots of friends. i can be friends with anyone if i want to. (thoughtful pause) except saddam."
justin, i was so into your blog about bush and war and all that--my sentiments exactlly.

so much to say...

first off:

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE BROTHERS!!!!!
justin, for "crutches" winning the BGSU film festival--wow!!! it's so great to see people (LOTS OF PEOPLE) appreciating your humor, innovation, and gift!!!
and michael, for your sweet math scholarship!!! can't wait until you're supporting all of us with that amazing brain! will you invite matt as your faculty member??? ha!

this week God is just showing us his LOVE, through the people he has put in our lives. we have had such a great time this week with friends and family!!!
michelle came down from san francisco to visit for tues evening, weds, and thursday. on wednesday we spent the whole day in la jolla, sitting on a rock overlooking the ocean, chatting and laughing. then we went to the ocean beach farmer's market and bought fresh pasta, alfredo sauce, fresh vegetables, strawberries, cheesecake, mini doughnuts, and fresh flowers (i filled all the rooms in my house with flowers for $3.00!!!!). then we came home, made the chow, and pigged out royally! what a perfect day with a perfect person! i echo her thoughts from a previous blog: it's so great to have a sister in law who is also one of my best friends in the world.

as i said before, our friends joel, astevens, and mccann have been visiting for the past week. joel reluctantly left today. astevens and mccann were going to leave tonight, but during dinner we talked them into staying one more day (yeah!). we have a great day planned for tomorrow. for those of you who read this and don't know, joel and matt have been best friends for years. but we just met astevens and mccann a few weeks ago when we stayed with them at their place in san francisco. as you all know, that was one of the BEST trips matt and i have ever taken. not only was the city spectacular, but the INSTANT friendship bond we formed with those boys was completely from God. i can't describe it really, but you know what i mean if you have met someone and become great friends within minutes. this has been rare in my life, and i'm happy to see it surface again (surprised by the form it has taken--with boys, i mean:) just goes to show that God fulfills His plan in His own way-always. and if we try to squish His way into what we think it should be, we totally miss the best things that He has for us.

so here's a shout out to our good friends astevens and mccann, courtesy of the travoltas:
the sun is out there
and i'm feeling alright
but it is not fair
that i have to leave tonight
and i wish i could stay a little longer...
i don't want to go home
-travoltas, "alright"

tracey

hello again!
one week left in march!!! i am over 2/3rds of the way finished with school!
yeah!

matt and i have been having fun. on friday night we went to see cush, one of my favorite bands ever in the world and THEY ROCKED OUT!!! such a great show, such a great feeling associated with their music. when i first started listening to them, i would dream of california and long to live there. unbelievable feeling to be actually seeing them now that i LIVE OUT HERE!!! i really can't describe it in human terms. they are so into their music and SO TIGHT that it is easily one of the BEST live bands i have ever witnessed. we also talked to wayne everett for a little while (drummer of cush, used to be in prayer chain) and he is a very nice, down to earth guy. we were talking in an awkward place where people were trying to get in and out and it would have been sort of natural to get out of the conversation but he said, "we're kind of in the way here, let's go outside so we can talk." wow--and the dude made several ship references, which matt and i have been laughing about ever since.

our pals, joel, astevens, and mccann are in town on their way home from san francisco and are hanging out here for awhile.
they arrived late friday night (3am), wherein i had a sleepwalking incident (which i don't remember but which apparently gave them all a good laugh). we all went to joshua tree national park on saturday and camped at this great location and just had such an excellent night of chatting around a campfire. joel played his guitar, the boys drank some beers (i refrained, due to the fact that we had to whiz in the great outdoors!), smoked some cigars, prayed a little, worshipped together, ate some yummy hot dogs over the fire, and talked all night. we all slept outside for at least part of the night--perfect temperature and the stars were the most amazing that i have ever seen! the next day we woke up sweating (this is the desert, people!) and drove through the park, stopping to climb rocks and go on short little excursions/hikes. we came home that night and were pooped out!

i'm expecting michelle in tonight between 8pm and 10pm and am planning to take tomorrow off work so the two of us can hang out all day. yay!
i had a dream that ryan and michelle's baby was a beautiful little girl. i also had a dream that i accidentally flew off of a cliff on my mountain bike. fear was the first thing that gripped me, but then peace overcame me. as i was falling, i was thanking god for everything in my life and told him i couldn't wait to see him. what wonderful ways god speaks to us (or maybe me?--i assume it is everyone) in dreams.
tracey

happy birthday to michael!!!!! yeah!
and a quick note to justin--i must say that i have night sweats at LEAST 3-4 times/week. didn't know other young people (and boys!) had them, too. have you linked it to anything in particular or just stress?
been having so much fun lately but i'll have to write about it later...
tracey

what a fun, lazy weekend i just had!
saturday morning we woke up to intermittent rain-yuck! but worse was the fact that the weather was causing the planes to change their path and LOUDLY land over our apt about every 2 minutes. i became so cranky and irritable that matt handed me my purse and said, "go shopping." (ha!!!) however, i knew i would just be exposed to more LOUD people and people who don't know how to drive in the rain. therefore, i went to the library and checked out about 7 chapter books that i had read as a child. then i came home and curled up in my down comforter with my books, some french vanilla coffee, and cookie dough. i read and laughed all day--and what great memories those books evoked!! i sort of got the idea for this when i was observing a child one day during read-aloud. the teacher was reading one of my favorite childhood books, "my father's dragon", and i got so engrossed in it. he came to a stopping point (of course at an exciting part), closed the book and said, "we're going to stop here". everyone (including me) yelled, "NOOOOO, pleeeease read some more!"
we're getting excited for visitors (san fran boys on friday, michelle on tuesday) and joshua tree!
taxes are done, thank GOD!
tracey

i love when the weekend comes! matt and i conked out last night--but not before going to a mexican dive in ocean beach, getting some tacos for dinner, and eating them on the seawall as we watched the sun set and the surfers catch some waves. today matt the workhorse said that he's going to work again, so i might go check out some of the museums around town. haven't done that yet.

funny quotes from kids yesterday:
i was having a conversation with two of my third graders as all the kids were leaving yesterday and here's how it went:
tom: i am a huge follower of captain underpants and diaper baby books!
me: oh, are you? i was thinking about ordering some, should i?
tom: yeah!
karina: mrs. edwards, why are you under there?
(and this girl is a total space cadet and i wasn't under anything, so i totally fell for it!)
me: under where?
karina and tom: you just said "underwear" !!!!

and matt claims this is the best one so far. i can't decide, there are so many good ones!

when i work with my "s" kids, i always tell them to keep their tongue behind thier teeth (it likes to come out and make a "th" lisp, that everyone has heard!).
so i say, "keep the lion in the cage!" and every time we have speech, we decide which animal we want our tongue to be that day. keep in mind i have a 1st grader and a second grader:

me: so what animal do you want your tongue to be today?
kyle: mine is a tiger, again.
keegan: um, i'm thinking.
me: well, mine is a baboon. keegan, did you decide yet?
keegan: um....
kyle: is it a piece of poop?
me: (people, you would have been so proud of me, i did not crack a smile, although i wanted to laugh at the ridiculousness!) is that a word we say in speech?
kyle: no.
me: ok.
keegan: (answering kyle's original question, apparently unmoved) no... um... i think it's a spider monkey.

welp, enough of that! i'm off!
tracey

oh yeah, emily--thanks so much for the sweet care package!
sorry to say that matt and i did not have enough self control to wait for the oscars to eat all of our candy.... we snarfed down quite a bit right away!!! we do still have the popcorn, m&m's, and fun dip left, to name a few! so we did save a little for the big night--can't wait!!! yeah chicago!

happy 23rd birthday justin!!!
have a great one!
we love you!
tracey

i just got back from a perfect weekend with my husband.
ahhhh...
it is SO MUCH FUN being married! it was fun to begin with, but it gets even more and more fun as we go!
we hung out at the beaches a lot this weekend, especially at our favorite san diego beach, san elijo. so peaceful and beautiful. there were a ton of surfers out this weekend, too, and they were fun to watch. as were at least 5 dolphins swimming along the shore, galloping in the water. also, we got to see a whale spout water up a few times, and matt actually saw it rise out of the water at one point! we watched the sun set and had a perfect view near the bottom of the cliffs on the beach. we went out to eat at a romantic italian restaurant--they brought me a thornless rose at the end of the meal! today we did some shopping and bought a couple of shirts, walked around pacific beach and mission beach, and now i'm home. matt is out playing basketball.
and now it is back to the daily grind, but we're both refreshed and ready. it helps to know that we're going to joshua tree in a couple of weeks, too!
tracey

hey mom--it's about time for your monthly blog, don't you think?
we'll be praying for your safe and fun time in chowtown!
mini blog today, as matt and i are about to eat stuffed crust pizza--ever since michelle mentioned it on her blog, i've been in the mood!!!
nice blog, emily, i love max lucado--his words are so simple yet they penetrate my soul...
p.s. everyone should go to a chiropractor--it feels so good and i've never been so healthy!!!
the end

welp, it's wednesday night and sort of felt like a friday. my kids had a half day, so i was supposed to be writing report cards. distractibility set in and i ended up eating lunch, chatting with coworkers, making a speech game, and getting my billing done. it was actually productive, i just didn't get the report cards done. oh well, another minimum day tomorrow (we have one every week--now i finally do, since another SLP is taking my charter school).
it's been feeling like spring lately-like it's staying lighter longer, the weather is warming up, rain time, and that weird spring fever that i get every year! i thought it would go away now that i live on the west coast, but little things bring back such strong memories of the joy of spring in ohio.... can anyone else relate? it's difficult to put into words.
my favorite part of winter here is the blooming of new flowers. february seems to be the month for that-new colors appear on plants everywhere and make the air smell so sweet.

matt and i are trying to figure out where we want to go on vacation this summer--SO HARD!!! too many places to go...
on the list of potential places to visit in the next few years
1. yosemite national park
2. seattle
3. drive/camp up the coast on hwy 1 (especially big sur, monterey/carmel, san fran)
4. ireland
5. colorado
6. joshua tree national park
7. grand canyon

recommendations from anyone who has been to any of these places are welcome...
well, enough dreaming and planning for me
i'll leave you all with a quote from a kid today:
"sometimes i forget where i am" from a sweet little boy trying to find his way back to his class.
yeah, me too.
tracey

wow-the crutches clip is great, justin! i can't wait to see it! to those of you who haven't checked out the clip for justin's new short, do so!
i also can't wait for christopher guest's "a mighty wind". i searched for it on google and didn't pay attention, but the first link it lead to was a funny end times prophetic messianic jew website with all these flames and stuff. it was hilarious because for a minute i was like, wait, where's christoper guest?

best blog quote of the week from mary, which made me feel overwhelmed with God:
"THE LORD! THE King of the heavens before there was time! Bow down mare! Just let it roll off and bow down to Me! Wow, I love God! To see His face after the earth....whoa that alone to fuel the day..." it did fuel my day, so thank you...

also, i've been so into the song, hungry, a vineyard worship song. it's just blowing me away right now...

hungry
i come to you
for i know you satisfy
i am empty but i know
your love does not run dry

and so i wait for you
so i wait for you

i'm falling on my knees
offering all of me
jesus you're all this heart is living for

broken
i run to you
for your arms are open wide
i am weary but i know
your touch restores life

so i wait for you
so i wait for you

i'm falling on my knees
offering all of me
jesus you're all this heart is living for

-tracey

how in the world is this the last day of february???
time is truly flying!!!

matt and i went to see juliana theory and something corporate last night (i was actually sort of dreading it since juliana's new album is so unbelievably sub par metallica!) however, they put on a pretty good show (boring set, though) and something corporate actually majorly EXCEEEDED my expectations!!! those guys were great and sort of had ben folds vibe with the piano scene. but so solid and great stage presence!!!

i had a good week-very busy-and obtained some fun quotes from the kiddos (i never even remember 90% of the hilariousness that i hear everyday, so here's just a few)!

the most fun time was when i was in a first grade classroom, sitting on the floor with the kids during their spanish lesson (at one of my schools, they get spanish every day for 30 minutes!). i was doing some in-class therapy with a hearing impaired child but sitting at the back of the group with some other kids. at one point, a little girl said, "do you have gum in your mouth?" and i said, "yes", because i knew she had already seen it. and instantly i had the attention of 3 other kids--"you're not allowed to have gum in school!" and usually at this point i say something about kids not being allowed, but i'm an adult and all that stuff that used to make me mad when i was a kid. however, this time i paused, they were watching and waiting, and i put my finger to my lips and smiled and said, "shhhh! i know. don't tell your teacher or i'll be in big trouble!" and they all started giggling and turned back to their activitiy. except one cute little blond peanut who i see for speech, who grinned and said, "it'th gonna cothst you a thsticker!" so i took the deal. what else could i do? it was my reputation on the line, people!!!

best quote from a kindergartener this week:
"where do you sleeep?", while looking around my therapy room, searching for a bed.

we're going out for mexican tonight with our friends marni and ed but no other big plans for the weekend. it's been raining off and on for the past few days, but i won't complain, considering the plight of my poor friends and relatives in ohio (i don' think i've slammed it lately, either!). maybe you guys need a vacation in san diego!
welp i'm done for now.
chow. (yes, i know that's not the correct spelling, but i like this spelling better!)
tracey

oops, didn't check my spelling the first time around--kerouac, i mean!
anyways, another monday down.
yesterday was a marathon day of watching reality tv and i'm done for a long time--really sick of it. but i need to veg out every once in awhile...

nothing much new to say today but was reading a good word about worry and anxiety...

so do not worry or be anxious for tomorrow, for tomorrow will have worries and anxieties of its own. sufficient for each day is its own trouble. matthew 6:34
the book i'm reading, "the battlefield of the mind", brought in the verse in john 10:10, that the enemy comes to steal, kill, and destroy---ie, in the situation of worry and anxiety: stealing your time and energy, killing your joy, and destroying your peace of mind. when i think about it in this way, it totally makes me want to fight against worry! i can choose to not accept a worrisome thought that will take up even a minute of my life, much less allow it to dominate my thoughts. besides, as the scripture says, there's enough trouble in each day as it is--if we add to it, it's our own choice (and our own fault!).
the end
tracey

wow, it's been so long! first of all, matt and i had such a great weekend in san francisco--really one of the best trips i've taken. i really loved the city, the coastline, everything was so beautiful!
matt and i left last friday morning and got to SF at 6:30pm. we stayed with joel and his roommates, astevens, bstevens, and mccann, who live in a quaint beach town called pacifica (about 15 minutes south of SF). friday was valentines day, so went took the BART subway downtown SF for some dinner. we strolled through china town and ended up in north park, the italian district at a cool little restaurant. tasty food and great chianti. the best part was when matt "blew up the bathroom" and then lied about it to a girl who had been waiting outside to use it! after dinner we went to this cool bar called vesuvios where jack kerouak hung out in his day- cool pub atmosphere, especially the upstairs. we headed home for the night and laid around chatting in the living room (there are 4 boys in the one bedroom apt, and then we barged in! total of = 5 air mattresses in that place!!!)

saturday morning we lazed around the apartment and then matt and i went exploring in the afternoon, got some lunch and found a perfect spot (about a block away from their apt) sitting on the edge of a cliff overlooking the HUGE pacific, chatting and drinking hot chocolate. when joel got back from class, we went downtown to the chinese new year festival. there were tons of people on the closed-off streets--totally packed in. the parade was, um,... how do i say this? sort of random, including the usual dragon things, firecrackers, and a clown that flashed us and had a stuffed animal lion below the belt--CUCKOO. then it started to rain on us, which eventually became rather fun! there were also random, 20 minute sections where there was nothing--and then something else would come down the street. we got tired of waitng for the ending so we left the parade early to find some food in china town. long story there, the service was horrible and had to argue with our waitress over price, but very funny experience. after dinner we went to this other cool fisherman’s bar/grill place--really wharf-core, including a doorman wearing a rain slicker with long grey hair and beard--so moby dick! it had all kinds of cool things all over the walls, very fun. it was still raining when we were done and had to walk about 15 blocks to the BART to get home. wet dogs, all of us. joel thought it would be hilarious to start kicking puddles of water at astevens, while getting the rest of us wet. highlight: astevens ran over to a balloon arch, buried his face in it and started biting and popping balloons...

sunday, easily one of the best days of my life. we woke up around nine, the boys donned their wetsuits, and we headed out to surf at this great spot called linda mar. the boys charged the waves while i hung out on the beach, took in the BEAUTY, read, and took pictures. we went back to the apt, got cleaned up, got some lunch at a cool italian deli and matt, joel, astevens, mccann and i went to muir woods for a hike. i had never seen redwoods before, and was in awe. besides that, the streams and creeks running through, total GREEN, cool, and best smell in the world dominated my senses! i think one of my favorite parts about it was that we so naturally interacted with each other--you would be talking to one person, then come to a curve in the path, another person would pass you, and you'd be instantly chatting with someone else. we walked and talked and we IN AWE OF GOD. after our perfect hike, the boys dudes took us up to sausilito, this great lookout point, witha perfect view of the golden gate bridge and the city-spectacular. from the lookout point we drove down to the haight asbury district (think hippie movement) for some dinner. we went to this cool Mediterranean (my favorite!) place called kan zemans. the atmosphere was so cool, dark, red lamps, everyone sitting cross-legged on cushions around your table. i had some tasty lamb kabobs and rice, and warm, spiced wine--yummy. after dinner we walked around a bit and checked out the scene--matt got offered pot several times. we ended up stumbling into a jazz club that looked very retro and fifties. the band was just starting so we decided to check it out and stayed for a couple of hours. the scene was perfect for my very first martini. also my very last disgusting-2-sips-of-and-couldn't-handle-it martini. sorry mare, bad news--it tastes horrible. the jazz was great, the atmosphere was perfect, and our great trip was winding down. those guys really were great hosts and so fun!

we had to leave on monday morning, but we decided to drive down the coast to at least monterey. highway 1 was gorgeous!!!! just driving on the curve of a cliff, waves crashing below. we stopped in monterey, which was a great little bay sort of town, with little shops and brick roads. we checked out fisherman's wharf and cannery row (see matt's reference for starflyer) i wanted to check out big sur, but by the time we were done with monterey it was 3:00 or so and we had about 7 more hours to go. we got home about 9:30, almost 12 hours in the car, we were tired, and already reminicient of our great time, but glad we were coming home to warm san diego.

so we've been through another work week, and i have great news!!! they finally got me some help and another speech therapist is going to take over my caseload at the charter school (which was getting out of control, in the number of kids that i had to see). so that is a relief and i will finally be able to catch up, i think...
other highlights--great bible study we've gotten into, and matt and i went to a party last night with his friends from work and played games--it actually was really fun! today i'm going to my friend's house to hang out in her garden and maybe help her plant some stuff.
hope everyone is well.
tracey

hello all.
monday again over here, and a pretty painless one, i must say!
(aside from having a meeting during my lunch time)
you know, this is the first year that i have faithfully taken a lunch break every day, and i'm the better for it! up until this year, i have stayed in my office and eaten at my desk while doing work for lunch. i think that because i live 5 minutes away from my schools, i have an excuse to go home and eat and relax and get away. then when i get back, i'm a new person! i have only 1.5 or 2 hours left of my day and that seems like nothing! what a concept, taking a lunch break!

anyhoo, on to less boring things....
matt and i had a fun weekend. on friday we went to this cool club called "the W", which has an outdoor floor with sand, a firepit, little cabanas, and plants everywhere--very cool and very tropical. we had a drink and then we walked to a restaurant in little italy and had some pizza. we came home and watched "sweet home alabama", which was a very sorry movie= D- in my book. horrible script writer(s), etc. which is too bad, because i like reese witherspoon.
then on saturday, i got a ton of stuff done in the morning while my silly husband slept in until 1:30 pm. then we went to sunset cliffs and watched the ocean and surfers. at one point i thought i saw a seal, but i wasn't wearing my glasses. foolishly, i tried to convince matt where the seal's head was, and he pointed out that it was actually a piece of wood. i conceded. after all, he does have better eyesight. then we went out to eat with some friends at a mexican joint, walked downtown for awhile, and went home (matt was feeling weird). we tried to watch SNL but both fell asleep--are we old or what!??!!

today we got a fun package of goodies that mom and dad got from tanzania! yay, i can't wait to put the guestbook in our guestroom and have everyone sign it when they come and stay with us! and everything else was awesome, too (i love matches, dad, thanks for remembering!).

mary sanford, where are you? how did the CBEST go? were the proctors nazi's or what!??
mom, it was good to hear from your blog--sounds like you had a lot of fun in TZ.

welp, i'm off to the chiropractor and then on to get matt his imac! that's the last i'll be seeing of him for the next few days...
tracey

after dad's monster entry, i feel the need to write at least a LITTLE something!
it's been a good week--thank God thursday is over! it is my most difficult day because i have to see 20 kids in the morning before lunch (in case you don't already know, ideal is to see 7 kids in the am, realistic is to see 12 or 13) and then go to a ridiculous charter school in the afternoon, where i have too many kids to see (and am therefore out of compliance every week). so ahhhhhhh...breathing a sigh of relief now.

we had a fun time with joel-had some good food, chats, and he and matt got to bond with surfing and cigars. then we'll go to san francisco on feb 14th. i can't wait! it will be the furthest north i have been on the west coast in my life!!! just a sidenote: joel shares the same hatred of L.A. that we have, therefore, many comments were made about that city of trash. and i have a powerful statement to make in regards to that issue: I WOULD RATHER LIVE IN ANY TOWN IN OHIO THAN LIVE IN L.A. to those who know me well, you understand how much i hate ohio and how taking that over l.a. is HUGE....

best quote from a kid today:
i was reading a book to a little 6 year old autistic boy named rex. the book was about a dragon and a boy and i came to a line where i put on my best dragon voice and said, "I'M GOING TO EAT YOU UP!". i looked at rex so he would comment on what was happening in the story but he reached over, held my hand, and whispered, "don't be scared-i'll take care of you. i won't let him eat you."

and now for the personal messages:
dad, that was a good word--matt and i have felt like that a thousand times--i think me, moreso than him, but there's nothing like a glimpse of poverty to make you (well, me) want to throw off everything in this life in the u.s., just go simple, and give the extra to those who need it.

by the way emily, i would go with the glue stick--i, too, used to have fears about the items peeling off, but not so with these new-fangled glue sticks! they really work. just make sure it is acid free, that always helps.

oops, i'm running late, i have to go pick up matt so we can get adjusted by our chiropractor!!!
byebye
tracey

i can finally tell the exciting news that i have!!!
my brother ryan and his wife michelle are expecting a baby!!!
so now it's aunt tracey and uncle matt over here...
i had to wait to tell because they wanted to tell grammy and granddad in person and i didn't want to spoil the surprise. so now they know they'll be great grandparents and i can open my big mouth. yay! i'm so excited!

everything is great, as usual, here in san diego.
joel is visiting from san fran and we'll be heading up his way in a couple of weeks as well.
welp, i'm out.
tracey

the surf report, by tracey edwards
8th grade
mrs. sanford's class
2-1-03
i ended up getting a wetsuit yesterday and matt and i hit the waves at mission beach. when we first looked at the water the waves were 2-4 feet, evenly spaced, perfect for just learning. then 30 minutes later, after i got my suit, the waves were 4-6 feet and one after the other. it was pretty hard to paddle out, but i did, and instantly got wiped out on my first wave--and totally in shock b/c of the freezing water. after the first dunk, however, the wetsuit kept me pretty warm and i didn't even notice the temperature. the lifeguards kept coming out on their jetskis, warning people about the ripcurrents and the water was really rough. i coasted in on my stomach a few more times, practiced paddling out, and then got pulled one too many times by the undertow before i decided that i'd try again tomorrow. matt took a few waves in, got up a couple times, but instantly flew off. i stood giggling on the sand and he stood up and waved his arms to show me he was okay. all in all, a fun first day of surfing. the end

yes! i did change my template--i had to, in order to put links to everyone else's blogs. but have no fear, if you click on archives, you can see my previous blogs with the festive fruit page. i will miss it, but i will enjoy having those links much more!!! farewell.
tracey

wow, it's been almost a week since i've updated! i didn't realize that i had been slacking...
it's been a good, busy week. there's never enough time to get done what i would like to get done! thursday was especially fun because my friend sue (who i worked with in wauseon) was visiting in cali and her friend drove her down here to visit with me! they came for dinner and we chatted until 11 pm and they went on their way. so much fun!

it has been nearly 80 degrees every day this week--yeah!!! unseasonably warm, apparently, but that's fine with me! the nights are much cooler though (55 degrees) so it doesn't exactly feel like summer. today is supposed to cool off, unfortunately--i was hoping the water would be a little bit warmer. oh well...

there's a wetsuit sale at a surfshop nearby so that's what we'll do today, get a wetsuit for me and then hit the beach! my first time surfing--a monumental moment in my life at age 27...
hopefully, i'll get some tips from joel when he comes to visit, too (monday)!

i discharged another child from therapy today. she had met all her goals and is within normal limits so i was pumped! so i was preparing her a few weeks ahead and telling her that she was doing so well that she would be graduating from speech class. and then when we had our last speech day (i had her alone for a special graduation celebration/diploma, etc.) she started crying. it was so sweet. have i ever mentioned how much i love my job??? ;)

best quote from a kid this week:
keegan: "mrs. edwards, i made up a song about growing up, do you want to hear it?"
me: "of course"
keegan: "when i grow up, up, up
i'll get a tarantula
and two weiner dogs dogs dogs
and a snake snake snake
that has spots spots spots
and looks like a chocolate chip cookie."

mindless kiddie fun over here--it actually had a real tune and sounded pretty good!

and now for some personal messages:
mom and dad edwards, we're praying for your safe return to ohio and we're so glad you had this wonderful adventure!
grammy and granddad--are you having a good time with ryan and michelle?
justin-i mean really, those fulbright people could only go with the subpar stuff that the BGSU weirdos gave you--you're totally deserving of it. i can't wait until i see the day where people (on a large scale) appreciate your creativity and humor and hard work.
mike-whoa on the math jargon, but i do love the info on my favorite nutty prof dr. fulcher, and about being absolute truth in math and relating it to God--that blew me away.
teri and mike-i love you guys--when are you coming to visit?
michelle ho- ditto! and your babies are so beautiful!
emily- where you been? you my baby daddy and he never get to see you!

welp, i'm off to pay the bills--
tracey

memo:
the reason why i am excited is not that i am pregnant.
so all of you who have written to me about it (and those of you who haven't written it but were thinking it), sorry, that is not my exciting news. tune in next week to find out what it is!

well, matt went surfing yesterday and it was so fun to watch him! he actually got up on the board and rode a wave for a second. he also had our board do a nosedive into the sand and now we have our first official dent/crack in our board! i don't have a wetsuit yet, so i just cheered from the beach!

matt is watching the superbowl right now at our friends house and i am watching movies at our apartment. i woke up with white spots on my throat this morning so i'm taking it easy and trying to avoid getting full-fledged sick. you know, sleeping, eating raw foods (secret from grandma lungstrum) and taking vitamins. i'll also go get adjusted tomorrow, so that should help, too.

i hear cheering down on the streets, i hope it is not for the raiders. those people are out of control and i can not wait until they leave my city!!! ;)

matt and i went to see adaptation friday night and chicago last night. chicago had some really great music and i thoroughly enjoyed it. apparently, too much music for matt, though--he just thought it was okay. adaptation gave me mixed emotions--the ending was sort of a surprise and an unpleasant one, at that. then later when i thought about it i laughed and was amused. if you've seen it, you probably already know what i'm talking about. also, a friend from junior high and high school was in the movie (she was the waitress that nicholas cage hits on)--that's always fun to see.

welp, i'm going to eat some soup and get some more sleep!
tracey

yay! i'm excited but i can't say why just yet... i will soon!

matt and i went to wahoo's tonight for yummy tacos--so good.
we've spent the last two nights at the chiropractor's office. apparently, the damage done to my neck in my recent sledding accident is worse than my car accident from a few years ago (the first 4 vertebrae in my neck are compressed and straight). so, an expensive and painful (yet, still fun to get all that air) sledding trip for me.

tonight we're going to see the movie "chicago" together (matt pretends like he's complaining but deep down he enjoys musicals, as i've stated before). tomorrow we'll go hiking and surfing at torrey pines and then sunday a superbowl party at our friends (marnie and eddie) place. the city is psycho right now with all the weirdo raiders fans here--get out of our town!!!! ha! but there are a ton of things going on in the city, free concerts, etc, however, i'm not a huge fan of large, drunken crowds, so it is doubtful that we will partake in the festivities. 100,000 extra people here--so crowded!

i feel exhausted since the past three nights i have been awakened in the middle of the night and have not been able to fall back asleep--so weird. usually stress can do that to me, but i don't really feel stressed right now. hmm. and that's a boring thing to write about so i'm changing the subject.

quote of the day from me:
"NEVERMIND" i said loudly to a lady who was yelling at me for asking her a question over the phone. then i hung up on her! it was so liberating. but i'm still always so shocked when people are mean to me for no reason. but i don't have to take it like i always have in the past.

quote of the day from a kid:
we were reading a book where the character had the power to control people, so i asked my kids, "what would you do if you had the power to control people?"
"could we control bad guys?" one child asked.
"yes," i said.
"then if the bad guy was trying to attack my sister, i would control him and make him stop and make him---well, no, i wouldn't kill him because even though there are bad guys, God still wouldn't like it if you killed them because he still loves them no matter what---but i would make him go away and then i would control him and make him want to be a good guy!"

grammy, i love what your minister said to you (and demonstrated) when you were little. what an impact that must have had on you.
well everyone, my laundry is calling me and then off to the movie.
tracey

we got a surfboard today!!!!
a sweet 9-foot longboard.
we are so pumped and can't wait to use it!!!
matt got a wetsuit but i found a better one at another shop so i'm waiting...
we're going to take a lesson pretty soon and then it's time to be out of control. matt thinks he's going to be getting up before work to catch the waves, but i don't know if i could ever love something so much that i would get up at 4:30 am for it. at least not consistently...
welp, off to watch blue crush and be inspired by all the surfer girls
tracey

my life has been made so much easier by technology, once again!
i now have access to the system that lets me write IEPs online and it fills in a good portion of the information for me, not to mention the time i save just by typing instead of handwriting!!!
i am feeling such relief because i wrote 3 of them in one day-- i was lucky to get one done by handwriting (so many extra forms and info to fill out). YAY!!!

my favorite quote from a kid today:
i was showing one of my groups (2 boys+1 girl) my new speech room and i said, "look at this you guys!!! isn't this so great??? don't you love it??"
and this one little boy took a lap around it yelled, "YES! let's celebrate with a hug!!!" and ran and hugged me!

i'm so glad it is friday. matt and i went out to a great mexican restaurant and rented some movies from blockbuster. we're going to just lay around and be lazy tonight and save up our energy for tommorow's hike. and the best part is this monday, where i can just SLEEP IN with matt and lay around and do everything i normally couldn't do on a typical working monday.

have no fear, mary. although i have been slightly tempted to do summer school (it's only 4 weeks, i think) i am making myself have a full summer off with no working. there's too much i want to do here! so what does casey's summer school musings do to your alaska summer? are you guys still thinking about seattle as well? i was checking out some flight prices--too expensive now, but i'm sure the prices will go down in the spring. by the way, united airlines is having a special where you can fly from LA to london for $169/ticket--that's way cheaper than flying home to ohio!!!! you have to do the travelling by march 31st, though, so it's a no no for us... but anyone else who has a more flexible schedule may be interested.

justin and mary, i'm going through the same spiritual battles you are, it seems. check out what oswald chambers has to say in "my utmost..." on aug 26, july 4, may 23, and especially jan 27. they will blow you away, as they have done to me.

God is making us spell out our own souls...
--oswald chambers, from "my utmost for his highest", jan 12

well, another thursday down--let the weekend begin!!!
we don't have school on monday, thanks to dr. martin luther king, jr... (among other major, nation-altering contributions).
speaking of which, some more dreams inspired by my kids...
"i have a dream that all the kids in mexico could have bikes to ride to school" (there is no bus transportation and some have to walk up to 10 miles to get to the closest school)
"i have a dream that we would not go to war soon."
"i have a dream that i could take my whole class to disneyland."
"i have a dream that there would never be any more poor people."
"i have a dream that my whole family would live long lives and die happy."

and now a 3 day weekend, so more mountain biking and hiking for us this weekend! we're going to drive to the desert and go on this hike that has an actual oasis with palm trees and a lake and a waterfall--so pumped!

hey, to anyone who is interested, check out grammy's blog at:
www.grammytbyrd.blogspot.com

grammy, i'm excited for the wall hanging! it must be difficult to fit into your busy schedule of exercise class, word processing class, feeding the seniors, and everything else!!! you really have a full week!
mom and dad edwards, we're praying for your safety and mission on this trip to tanzania and are relieved that you didn't go to zanzibar!
mare, hilariousness with your running. and i, as well, run a 9 1/2 minute mile--don't feel too bad, but i know what you mean--at least 3 minutes more than the old days is really a depressing thing. but you're not alone!
and michelle--we want to hear from you!!!
tracey

hello gang.
a nice weekend is over and now for a crazy week!
matt and i tried to find a surfboard on saturday, but came up short--nothing quite fit both our budget AND the size requirements. there are many more surf shops we haven't checked out yet, though! i did find wetsuit that fit me, but no point in buying it until we get a surfboard.
yesterday i went to a fun church in ocean beach and it is worth going back to. without naming names, there was someone who couldn't come with me due to some intestinal issues...
then he was feeling better later in the afternoon so we took a nice long bike ride down along the bay and to downtown. it was beautiful and the weather was perfect--and i finally got to try out my new bike (now that i am somewhat recovered from my sledding accident). we are S-O-R-E today, though!!!

and now for a quote from my kids:
we were playing a game where kids were allowed to wish for anything they wanted.
here are some of the wishes:
"i wish that i could help my brother with his homework."
"i wish that i had a pot of gold that i could give to all the poor people."
"i wish no one would ever be teased again."
"i wish my brother could be with his girlfriend again because he's so sad without her."
"i wish i would never stutter again."
"i wish i had a bunny."
"i wish that everyone in the world would be happy."
"i wish that no one would ever die again."
"i wish school wasn't hard for daniel."
"i wish that my daddy would come back home."
"i wish my mommy would never be sad again."
"i wish i could go to heaven."

after that last one (and after some difficult questions to work into a speech therapy session--is the devil real? will he kill me? etc. in other words, things i hope i don't get in trouble for answering...) i was able to share the Lord with that 3rd grade boy and he said that when he went home he would ask Jesus into his heart. it was the most precious thing and totally made my day.

don't i work with the sweetest kids??? hardly any of the wishes were for themselves--they're so sweet and caring. now can you see why i love my job so much??!!

happy birthday to my brother ryan good, catching up with me at the age of 27!
and an early happy birthday to my friend teri, is it 30 this year? wow!
also, note to dad: #1--no, you guys don't really rip into all the presents at once, at least not the past couple of years i've been with you, but matt is always reminicent of the old days!
#2-be expecting 2 packages in the mail--more mobil stuff--extra christmas presents!

matt and i went out with our friends marnie and ed last night. they moved here this spring from seattle and are still exploring san diego like we are. we went to this cool club called the W, where the top floor was out on a deck outside and they had a huge fire pit, sand, and cool little cabanas to sit in. we had a drink and then walked to little italy for dinner at an italian joint. such a fun time!

today we're going to get a surfboard and wetsuits--can't wait!
bye people,
tracey

helllooooooooooo everyone!
after ages of not writing, i am back!

we had a great christmas with our families in cincy and in BG.
quick rundown of the highlights were:
-dec 22nd: matt gave me a mountain bike for christmas!!!

-dec 23rd: arrived in cincy @ 7:30 pm to hang with mom and dad good--mom had skyline dip all ready for her favorite son-in-law, who snarfed it down instantly. and chat fest/wrap fest (you can't take wrapped packages on the plane, so we had to do all our wrapping in cincy) until bed time!

-dec. 24th: christmas eve festivities including baking 7 dozen cookies (like we didn't have enough food already!) and hanging out with kevin, ryan and michelle, who all came in town late afternoon. a bit of a scare
at 10:00 pm, when we received a call from emily's (kevin's fiancee) parents, saying she had been in a car accident and they were going to the emergency room. thankfully, "only" a broken arm and finger--on top of recovering from a tonsilectomy (spelling?)--yikes!

dec. 25th: merry christmas! grammy, granddad, aunt deedee, uncle bob, and jonathan came over around 10:30 am for the greed and avarice! ridiculous amounts of presents under the tree, on the floor, by the fireplace, in the kitchen, etc.... and marathon present opening until 3:00 pm! (okay, we took a break in the middle for brunch!). my family opens presents one at a time, announcing who gave the present and then oohing and ahhing while others politely look on until it is the next person's turn. this is fun for me because i grew up doing it this way and it also enables me to see the fun things everyone else gets! this method of present-opening is difficult for matt to endure, as he grew up with everyone ripping into their presents at the same time! he's such a good sport!!! more food was consumed later that night at the burns house, where we hung out in jonathan's crib and played pool, playstation 2, electronic darts--yeah! i wasted michelle!!!! (what? oh. okay, i was standing closer to the dartboard than she was, being my first time playing and all...).

dec. 26th- after christmas shopping time! let's just say that michelle and i spent an embarrassing amount of time in bath and body works! then on to a chinese buffet for dinner. i tried sushi for the first time (it was okay, but nothing i would crave or order by itself).

dec. 27th- more shopping, relaxing, eating, and chatting with the family
dec. 28th- ditto
dec. 29th- mom and dad good drove matt and i up to dayton to wish emily a merry christmas on our way up to BG. she had a fun green cast and her dog, radar, was hilarious! (kevin had taken him to see santa and they had a picture of him on santa's lap!!!) then on to piqua for yummy mexican while we met up with mom and dad edwards. we embarrassed our waiter and ourselves as we took an obcene amount of pictures in front of a huge sombrero! we parted ways with the good family and headed up to BG with the edwards folks. there, we were greeted by mary, justin, michael and GRAMPS! present opening ensued (we took turns since it was mostly me and matt + the presents we brought for them)! then we chatted and decided to go bowling with grandpa. WE ALL DID SO BAD, especially matt (heehee! even i beat him!), but had a fun and hilarious time!

dec. 30th- sleeping in, a nice visit with rachael at grounds for thought, and then out to dinner with the whole family at trotters! then we watched "reign of fire" and laughed at matthew mcconaughey (spelling?) flexing and whispering--hilariously cliched b-grade script.

dec. 31st- new years eve! boring BG celebrations of a yummy italian dinner by jay, a strong white russian for matt, a quick stop at the zippays for a game of catchphrase, and home by 11:45 to watch the ball drop on TV with mom and dad edwards. new years resolution #1: never spend another new years eve in BG again!!!

jan 1st- happy new year!!! mary and casey came back to BG (poor casey was sick) and my dear friends, teri and mike, drove all the way from cleveland to spend the day with me. the rest of the family went to see "gangs of new york". teri, mike, and i went to panera for about 4 or 5 hours and caught up on everything. we had such a great time and i was so sad to see them go home. we had a YUMMY dinner made by mom--chicken enchiladas! then we rolled ourselves around and watched more movies, played cranium (hilarious charade done by matt for superstar, which was actually the category, not the charade he was supposed to do, which involved him just standing with outstretched arms--the actual word he was supposed to be acting out was "parachute". i'm laughing at the memory of it as i'm writing this!!!) another funny moment was when justin said, "mike, give me the clay" and mike tossed it across the table. it landed in the oreo cheesecake plate--and so perfectly! it landed in the empty space, and left the rest of pieces unscathed! LOUD LAUGHTER from all the kids; mom and dad = silence. oops. awkward yet so very funny!

jan 2nd- my wonderful friend heidi drove all the way from boardman to spend the afternoon with me. again, we had such a great time and i was so sad to say goodbye. i am blessed with such great lasting friendships--truly sent from God. then we went sledding at night on bill's hill at BGSU. mary had this great inflatable innertube sled and we went down on it together, the destination being a snow ramp at the bottom of the hill. we hit the ramp, got incredible air, and both flew off the sled. i bonked my head twice and just laid there. my neck has been sore ever since--it was almost worth it for the adrenaline rush as we flew up from the ramp, but not really.

jan 3rd- happy anniversary to me and matt! 5 years! it's so hard to believe it has been that long. marraige has been so wonderful that words could never BEGIN to explain it! i got matt a surfboard (back in the big SD) to celebrate our great marraige and our california dream. we packed up and said goodbye to most of the edwards family and mom drove us to the columbus airport. we arrived back HOME at 11:00 pm. it was 62 degrees. HALLELUJAH!!!

so there is the rundown for those of you who didn't get bored and are still reading this! it was hard to get adjusted to our work schedule but we're gradually getting back into the swing of things. being off for so long made me desire that schedule FULL TIME!!

matt's birthday was yesterday--28 years old. we went out to dinner at fred's mexican and had yummy chicken tacos and then went to see "catch me if you can" --very clever!
farewell to you all--i'm tired of sitting at this computer!!

hey dad, when we come home will you help me put links on my blog + show me how to put pictures up here?

some lyrics for how i used to feel about BG:

someday
we'll leave this town
it wears us down
we'll leave somehow
all it's harm and all it's charm
someday

someday
we'll leave this life
far behind
and fade in time
we'll look down on this sad town

was it a dream i had
safe from harm
was it a dream i had

someday
we'll leave behind
this sad life and all its lies
all it's harm, and all it's charm
someday
we shall see with clarity
and we won't look back
-ash

and now we are going back.
which will be fine since we're going to be with family
and we get to leave.

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