hello gang!
and happy belated birthday to justin!!!
somehow i have mustard on my shirt and i know i didn't eat mustard today. hmmm... maybe it was transferred in a messy child hug!
anyhoo, glad to see that mary is not joining the ranks of ryan good- blogwise, i mean!
also, i must know how the clay aiken concert was! ha! that's got to be worse than hootie, seriously!!!
this past weekend matt and i helped our friends transfer concrete from their back yard to a uhaul. we were machines!!! by the time we were done loading, the uhaul was seriously lowered and the top portion of the tires were nowhere to be seen. so the four of us hopped in the front of the uhaul, ready to ride to the city dump. as we were driving away, we heard a horrible sound of tires scraping on the bottom of the truck. this would be our background noise for the rest of the trip. our excursion also involved hitting a giant pothole, having a guy pull up and tell us that our axle was about to snap, and having the lady at the dump weigh our vehicle and say, "oh my god!" apparently, we had 6 thousand pounds of concrete in that deal! we really were praying the whole way that we would make it unharmed and that the truck would be unharmed. which was what happened, thankfully. after burning the brakes and the tires, of course!
we're still so sore!!!! i've got to get a workout like that in more often!
welp, i have a dentist appt to pick up my nightguard so i don't grind my teeth into oblivion. farewell.
14 more days of work until spring break!
(let the school countdowns begin, mare...)
tracey
Saturday, March 13, 2004
hello there everyone!
it's been a good week.
first of all, we made it through the 2nd week in march!
only 3 weeks to go until spring break-yeah!
hopefully up to chow town by then. but we sorta have to wait and see how flexible matt's job will be about letting him have a day off only 3 weeks into his employment.
this week was full.
the other night we watched "american splendor", which i loved.
definitely on my top 10 in my year in review.
great acting, very witty, different, interesting, and so weird that it was true!
i got to talk to rydogg also, since his family left him for clay aiken! :)
then on thursday night, matt got the fever for shuffleboard (bar shuffleboard, that is!) so we called up our friends sue and tom and asked if they wanted to join us. which, of course, they did. so we grabbed a bite to eat at this mexican restaurant that they just fixed up in OB--yummy and cheap! and then we just walked across the street to a place called bullfrogs, where we played shuffleboard. unfortunately, my teams lost both games. mostly due to me. darn it!
then last night, matt and i were able to do what we've been wanting to do since he was laid off in november!
we went out to dinner at ortega's and then went to a real movie in a theater! :)
we finally saw mystic river, by which i was unfortunately depressed and disappointed.
only in the story line and expansion of some events, though---the acting was fantastic.
so today we're going to help our friends marni and ed with their backyard. apparently, they had a huge concrete slab in part of their backyard, where the former owners parked their boat. so our friends rented a jackhammer and went to town on it. and today we're going to help them clean up the thousands of pounds of concrete--yikes!
it's been a good week.
first of all, we made it through the 2nd week in march!
only 3 weeks to go until spring break-yeah!
hopefully up to chow town by then. but we sorta have to wait and see how flexible matt's job will be about letting him have a day off only 3 weeks into his employment.
this week was full.
the other night we watched "american splendor", which i loved.
definitely on my top 10 in my year in review.
great acting, very witty, different, interesting, and so weird that it was true!
i got to talk to rydogg also, since his family left him for clay aiken! :)
then on thursday night, matt got the fever for shuffleboard (bar shuffleboard, that is!) so we called up our friends sue and tom and asked if they wanted to join us. which, of course, they did. so we grabbed a bite to eat at this mexican restaurant that they just fixed up in OB--yummy and cheap! and then we just walked across the street to a place called bullfrogs, where we played shuffleboard. unfortunately, my teams lost both games. mostly due to me. darn it!
then last night, matt and i were able to do what we've been wanting to do since he was laid off in november!
we went out to dinner at ortega's and then went to a real movie in a theater! :)
we finally saw mystic river, by which i was unfortunately depressed and disappointed.
only in the story line and expansion of some events, though---the acting was fantastic.
so today we're going to help our friends marni and ed with their backyard. apparently, they had a huge concrete slab in part of their backyard, where the former owners parked their boat. so our friends rented a jackhammer and went to town on it. and today we're going to help them clean up the thousands of pounds of concrete--yikes!
Sunday, March 07, 2004
we had a nice 80 degree day today so we went to the beach and relaxed!
everyone was out, all pumped up that it was so warm...
there was such a great, summer-carefree-feeling all day long.
supposedly it is going to be in the 80s this week so now i'm really going to feel like working!!!
oh well. poor me. ha!!!
last night we went to our friends house and made homemade pizzas and played games (scene it and catch phrase). we now have our own version of catchphrase, which started after matt began yelling, "monkey" for his answer every time. so now we have monkey catchphrase, where you have to make up a scenario involving a monkey for each of your clues. it's quite hilarious, actually.
i think our pilot light went out because we have no hot water, so matt's trying to wrangle with it upstairs.
we both need to take showers before we go to church tonight, which starts in 40 minutes. hmmmm...
and then we're having dinner (italian, of course!) at our friend desiree's house while we watch the season premiere of "the sopranos".
so it should be a great evening...
have a great week everybody!
everyone was out, all pumped up that it was so warm...
there was such a great, summer-carefree-feeling all day long.
supposedly it is going to be in the 80s this week so now i'm really going to feel like working!!!
oh well. poor me. ha!!!
last night we went to our friends house and made homemade pizzas and played games (scene it and catch phrase). we now have our own version of catchphrase, which started after matt began yelling, "monkey" for his answer every time. so now we have monkey catchphrase, where you have to make up a scenario involving a monkey for each of your clues. it's quite hilarious, actually.
i think our pilot light went out because we have no hot water, so matt's trying to wrangle with it upstairs.
we both need to take showers before we go to church tonight, which starts in 40 minutes. hmmmm...
and then we're having dinner (italian, of course!) at our friend desiree's house while we watch the season premiere of "the sopranos".
so it should be a great evening...
have a great week everybody!
Friday, March 05, 2004
wow, what a week!
God had the perfect job waiting for matt this month!
he went in for an interview on monday and was hired on tuesday!
hooray! it's a 3-month contract, with possibility for permanent, depending on the higher-ups.
whatever it ends up being, it's a very prestigious company that will look great on his resume.
look it up here at: www.illumina.com
and then he has two more interviews this week, that he's going to for the practice/for if this really is temporary and he can look these companies after the contract is over.
so God is good, as usual!!!
march is always my most difficult month at school, mostly because there are no days off or holidays to look forward to (unless you count st. patrick's day, which i don't, because it's in the middle of the week and we don't even get a day off school--waaaah!!!!).
but i've made it through the first week, so that's not so bad!
so i'm going to graig henry's wedding in cleveland on april 17th! yay!
matt made me get the ticket, because even though we're broke, it is a really important event to me.
graig is like family. for those of you who don't know, his mom, mary, was my mom's best friend. and she went to be with the Lord a few years ago.
and i've grown up with the henry family and considered them family, and i have a personal day yet to take, so i'm going, gosh darn it!
and it is going to be such a PAR-TAY! i really am excited. plus, i get to see my baby hannah, too!!!!
welp, i'd better get going to school.
have a great day, people!!!
God had the perfect job waiting for matt this month!
he went in for an interview on monday and was hired on tuesday!
hooray! it's a 3-month contract, with possibility for permanent, depending on the higher-ups.
whatever it ends up being, it's a very prestigious company that will look great on his resume.
look it up here at: www.illumina.com
and then he has two more interviews this week, that he's going to for the practice/for if this really is temporary and he can look these companies after the contract is over.
so God is good, as usual!!!
march is always my most difficult month at school, mostly because there are no days off or holidays to look forward to (unless you count st. patrick's day, which i don't, because it's in the middle of the week and we don't even get a day off school--waaaah!!!!).
but i've made it through the first week, so that's not so bad!
so i'm going to graig henry's wedding in cleveland on april 17th! yay!
matt made me get the ticket, because even though we're broke, it is a really important event to me.
graig is like family. for those of you who don't know, his mom, mary, was my mom's best friend. and she went to be with the Lord a few years ago.
and i've grown up with the henry family and considered them family, and i have a personal day yet to take, so i'm going, gosh darn it!
and it is going to be such a PAR-TAY! i really am excited. plus, i get to see my baby hannah, too!!!!
welp, i'd better get going to school.
have a great day, people!!!
Saturday, February 28, 2004
i just won a free lunch at fred's mexican restaurant!
yay! i entered a contest a long time ago and i actually won.
now i'm going to try to win TLC's home sweep, where one winner will get their whole mortgage paid off--yeah!!!
i had an insane day of cleaning and laundry. one nice thing about having kids is that someday they will be old enough to have chores and they can help me...
matt and i went to the beach today to relax and read. we do that all the time but hardly ever end up reading. we just start chatting and looking at people and watching the ocean. the ocean never gets old! no matter how many times i've seen it, it still draws me in.
we also ended up looking at all the pups at dog beach, like we usually do when we're down that way. i get pumped up for when we have a dog someday and can take him there to swim and play. we saw a dog who looked like reeces but was black and had a little more of a beard! we always see bo bear dogs there (and i'm now noticing them in a ton of commercials, too!). someday. me. doggie. happy.
we're going to rancho's tonight (my favorite: lentil, avacado, and cheese burrito) with some friends and then back to our house to play some games. we may try to bust out catan, but we'll see what the mood is like. if everyone is horsing around, it's not really the game to be learning or explaining, eh?
matt has an interview on monday, so that's good news. he had a phone interview last week and now they want him for a face-to-face. everyone keep him in your prayers!!! it's a temporary position but temporary $ is better than unemployment $. plus, scantron started out as just contract work as well, and that turned to permanent. apparently a normal practice of hiring in the tech writing field.
it's march on monday--how did that happen??? march is not my favorite month, mostly because we have zero school holidays during those 4 1/2 weeks. today i found an old calendar (2002) and was laughing because it was when i worked at wauseon and i had recorded every day that we had a 2-hour delay or snow day! so fun, waking up in the morning and turning on that TV to see wauseon and evergreen (for mare!) were cancelled! this past week we had quite a bit of rain for several days in a row. one morning it was particularly heavy rain and one of the teachers said to the secretaries, "shouldn't school be cancelled by now?" ha! she was joking, but i was thinking the same thing as i was driving in...
welp, i've got to get ready for our night out on the town!
yay! i entered a contest a long time ago and i actually won.
now i'm going to try to win TLC's home sweep, where one winner will get their whole mortgage paid off--yeah!!!
i had an insane day of cleaning and laundry. one nice thing about having kids is that someday they will be old enough to have chores and they can help me...
matt and i went to the beach today to relax and read. we do that all the time but hardly ever end up reading. we just start chatting and looking at people and watching the ocean. the ocean never gets old! no matter how many times i've seen it, it still draws me in.
we also ended up looking at all the pups at dog beach, like we usually do when we're down that way. i get pumped up for when we have a dog someday and can take him there to swim and play. we saw a dog who looked like reeces but was black and had a little more of a beard! we always see bo bear dogs there (and i'm now noticing them in a ton of commercials, too!). someday. me. doggie. happy.
we're going to rancho's tonight (my favorite: lentil, avacado, and cheese burrito) with some friends and then back to our house to play some games. we may try to bust out catan, but we'll see what the mood is like. if everyone is horsing around, it's not really the game to be learning or explaining, eh?
matt has an interview on monday, so that's good news. he had a phone interview last week and now they want him for a face-to-face. everyone keep him in your prayers!!! it's a temporary position but temporary $ is better than unemployment $. plus, scantron started out as just contract work as well, and that turned to permanent. apparently a normal practice of hiring in the tech writing field.
it's march on monday--how did that happen??? march is not my favorite month, mostly because we have zero school holidays during those 4 1/2 weeks. today i found an old calendar (2002) and was laughing because it was when i worked at wauseon and i had recorded every day that we had a 2-hour delay or snow day! so fun, waking up in the morning and turning on that TV to see wauseon and evergreen (for mare!) were cancelled! this past week we had quite a bit of rain for several days in a row. one morning it was particularly heavy rain and one of the teachers said to the secretaries, "shouldn't school be cancelled by now?" ha! she was joking, but i was thinking the same thing as i was driving in...
welp, i've got to get ready for our night out on the town!
Wednesday, February 25, 2004
yes, i know i love little people, but that guy who was the littlest groom was, in true form to all other reality tv bachelors, not the brightest penny in the bank. oh well. matt explained that those are the only kind of people they can get to do those shows, anyways...
well, we had our first "winter storm" of the year! we went to bed sat night and it was pouring and it continued off and on through monday afternoon. so of course, it has been all over the news. but now everything is nice and green and pretty! always amazing how that happens!
here's the so simple recipe for fruit pizza:
1. get a pkg of pillsbury sugar cookie dough and roll it out to about 1/4 inch thickness on a cookie sheet (sprinkle flour on the cookie sheet and the dough, so it doesn't stick to the rolling pin--or sometimes, i just push it out with a big spoon or my hands). it will most likely take the shape of a large oval or tapered rectangle, so don't stress if it doesn't look like a perfectly squared off rectangle.
2. bake as directed
3. stir together 8 oz of cream cheese (softened) and 1/2 cup of sugar. then spread it evenly on the cooled cookie.
4. top with any kind of fruit you want.
5. snarf it down wildly!
have a great day everyone!!!
well, we had our first "winter storm" of the year! we went to bed sat night and it was pouring and it continued off and on through monday afternoon. so of course, it has been all over the news. but now everything is nice and green and pretty! always amazing how that happens!
here's the so simple recipe for fruit pizza:
1. get a pkg of pillsbury sugar cookie dough and roll it out to about 1/4 inch thickness on a cookie sheet (sprinkle flour on the cookie sheet and the dough, so it doesn't stick to the rolling pin--or sometimes, i just push it out with a big spoon or my hands). it will most likely take the shape of a large oval or tapered rectangle, so don't stress if it doesn't look like a perfectly squared off rectangle.
2. bake as directed
3. stir together 8 oz of cream cheese (softened) and 1/2 cup of sugar. then spread it evenly on the cooled cookie.
4. top with any kind of fruit you want.
5. snarf it down wildly!
have a great day everyone!!!
Monday, February 23, 2004
Saturday, February 21, 2004
yay!
grammy and ryan and michelle ALL blogged! congratulations ryan, on becoming VICE PRESIDENT! wow, and way before the age of 30, too--that is so fantastic!!!! and new pictures of hannah on michelle's page made me laugh! and in answer to ryan's question, my favorite dessert is fruit pizza (which i tend to only make for parties or on hilton head vacations!). i made this dessert for valentine's day that was actually a parfait of layers of chocolate cake, chocolate syrup, vanilla pudding, cool whip, and oreos and matt was really into it. in fact, we had a funny incident where he really wanted to eat it while he watched a show on TV, and somehow i was (unknowingly) inhibiting this from happening so it became a funny fight, where matt later apologized for "becoming obsessed with his dessert". HA!!! i don't think i know anyone more passionate about food than matt.
tonight we're having a few friends over for dinner, so i'm going to go prepare for that! thankfully, we've kept this place pretty darn clean for the past couple of weeks (i'd even say since christmas, we've been good), so there's not much work to do in that respect. i'm going to start a new project soon that may ruin the nice, decluttered space we've been living in! i've been wanting to do it since we moved out here but i just haven't been on the ball. i've been wanting to have a guest book in our guest room that each person signs/writes a message as they come to visit. since i've been late and we've had a ton of visitors, i'm just going to print out a picture of each visitor and write the dates of their visit. sounds simple, but once i get going, who knows what that could turn into???
welp, i'm off! enjoy your weekends, everyone!
grammy and ryan and michelle ALL blogged! congratulations ryan, on becoming VICE PRESIDENT! wow, and way before the age of 30, too--that is so fantastic!!!! and new pictures of hannah on michelle's page made me laugh! and in answer to ryan's question, my favorite dessert is fruit pizza (which i tend to only make for parties or on hilton head vacations!). i made this dessert for valentine's day that was actually a parfait of layers of chocolate cake, chocolate syrup, vanilla pudding, cool whip, and oreos and matt was really into it. in fact, we had a funny incident where he really wanted to eat it while he watched a show on TV, and somehow i was (unknowingly) inhibiting this from happening so it became a funny fight, where matt later apologized for "becoming obsessed with his dessert". HA!!! i don't think i know anyone more passionate about food than matt.
tonight we're having a few friends over for dinner, so i'm going to go prepare for that! thankfully, we've kept this place pretty darn clean for the past couple of weeks (i'd even say since christmas, we've been good), so there's not much work to do in that respect. i'm going to start a new project soon that may ruin the nice, decluttered space we've been living in! i've been wanting to do it since we moved out here but i just haven't been on the ball. i've been wanting to have a guest book in our guest room that each person signs/writes a message as they come to visit. since i've been late and we've had a ton of visitors, i'm just going to print out a picture of each visitor and write the dates of their visit. sounds simple, but once i get going, who knows what that could turn into???
welp, i'm off! enjoy your weekends, everyone!
Thursday, February 19, 2004
Monday, February 16, 2004
it's monday and i'm not working!
hooray!
it's beautiful, so i'm going to take a hike pretty soon.
maybe by the time i get back, matt will be up.
this is the fun part of his unemployment: when he's home on my vacation days!
summer plans are filling up fast--
i'm doing a cincy/lexington/maybe columbus circuit from june 15-july 4.
then my parents are coming out aug 7-14ish, and ryan, michelle, and hannah will be out for a week sometime, and mare sometime as well! by the way mary--can you believe our campsite is booked for every day in august? i checked awhile ago (when we were emailing about it) and not one day in the whole month was open. ridiculous! it makes me feel like booking for next summer right now! so anyhoo, the summer is filling up! and happily! i love having people here anytime, but especially in the summer when i'm not working!
dad edwards, i loved the crab audio quote on your blog!
and mary, those pictures of bo are so cute! what a silly, sweet dog, with silly, sweet ears!
i can't wait to meet him in person!
i think i might go to our borders to see if their calendars are $1.00 as well, seeing as it is mid-february and we are still without one.
i was lazy all day yesterday, reading and lounging around... so today i want to get out and get moving!
so i'm off!
hooray!
it's beautiful, so i'm going to take a hike pretty soon.
maybe by the time i get back, matt will be up.
this is the fun part of his unemployment: when he's home on my vacation days!
summer plans are filling up fast--
i'm doing a cincy/lexington/maybe columbus circuit from june 15-july 4.
then my parents are coming out aug 7-14ish, and ryan, michelle, and hannah will be out for a week sometime, and mare sometime as well! by the way mary--can you believe our campsite is booked for every day in august? i checked awhile ago (when we were emailing about it) and not one day in the whole month was open. ridiculous! it makes me feel like booking for next summer right now! so anyhoo, the summer is filling up! and happily! i love having people here anytime, but especially in the summer when i'm not working!
dad edwards, i loved the crab audio quote on your blog!
and mary, those pictures of bo are so cute! what a silly, sweet dog, with silly, sweet ears!
i can't wait to meet him in person!
i think i might go to our borders to see if their calendars are $1.00 as well, seeing as it is mid-february and we are still without one.
i was lazy all day yesterday, reading and lounging around... so today i want to get out and get moving!
so i'm off!
Saturday, February 14, 2004
happy valentine's day everyone!!!
ah, saturday morning after a friday off!
it feels so good!
nevermind that i've woken up at 6:45 (the exact time my alarm goes off on weekdays) today and yesterday.
welcome to the world of being an adult, eh?
it's not that i don't get enough sleep when i get up this early, it's just sort of depressing---you know, saying goodbye to an era (of consistent staying up late, sleeping in late, being younger).
i'm listening to belle and sebastian and getting partly excited for coachella music festival (and partly not, because what if matt doesn't have a job by then..) but it would be so great to see ash, deathcab, flaming lips (i need to see what has matt so excited, but i could give or take the actual music--sorry), basement jaxx (just for where's your head at--the ultimate pump up song for me a few years ago), you will know us by the trail of dead, the pixies (of course), the cure (yes!), and belle and sebastian.
but thanks to grandpa's christmas money, that i actually carried around in my purse until now (aren't you proud of me??? 2 months almost, without spending it!), we're going to see the strokes! you can read in matt's blog how the deal went down. it's one of those shows that we would regret missing. like U2, i know we were poor, but i wish we could have scraped together the money somehow to see that epic performance.
i agree with mom edwards, i love hearing about the little everyday things that people are doing-- i love picturing mom making bread in her bread machine, mary sitting at her desk in her classroom with her journal open in front of her, casey chasing after silly bo, mike and justin in the basement recording, dad with headphones in, listening to the bros music. it makes me feel like i don't miss much between the times that we all see each other. when i go home and catch up with family and friends, i'll start telling a story and someone will say, "oh yeah, i read that on your blog." huh? oh. then i don't need to talk....:)
by the way, dad, are you giving any cs lewis talks in ohio/BG/cleveland/or pittsburgh areas anytime in the future (because ken wants to see you talk sometime)? i looked on your website and didn't see any ohio engagements, but--man! you are a famous speaker, eh? nationally and internationally known! when you first started reading cs lewis works, did you ever imagine yourself in this position?
oh yeah, dad! yesterday i got a letter from my grammy, who has a friend who lives in the assisted living home where you spoke at in columbus. apparently, this woman is 90 years old and also an accomplished quilter. grammy told her that mom edwards was also a quilter and the lady said she knew and that she had her picture taken with mom. do you all remember that??? what a fun, small world!
welp, i must be going-- pilates is calling my name!
have a fantastic weekend everyone!
ah, saturday morning after a friday off!
it feels so good!
nevermind that i've woken up at 6:45 (the exact time my alarm goes off on weekdays) today and yesterday.
welcome to the world of being an adult, eh?
it's not that i don't get enough sleep when i get up this early, it's just sort of depressing---you know, saying goodbye to an era (of consistent staying up late, sleeping in late, being younger).
i'm listening to belle and sebastian and getting partly excited for coachella music festival (and partly not, because what if matt doesn't have a job by then..) but it would be so great to see ash, deathcab, flaming lips (i need to see what has matt so excited, but i could give or take the actual music--sorry), basement jaxx (just for where's your head at--the ultimate pump up song for me a few years ago), you will know us by the trail of dead, the pixies (of course), the cure (yes!), and belle and sebastian.
but thanks to grandpa's christmas money, that i actually carried around in my purse until now (aren't you proud of me??? 2 months almost, without spending it!), we're going to see the strokes! you can read in matt's blog how the deal went down. it's one of those shows that we would regret missing. like U2, i know we were poor, but i wish we could have scraped together the money somehow to see that epic performance.
i agree with mom edwards, i love hearing about the little everyday things that people are doing-- i love picturing mom making bread in her bread machine, mary sitting at her desk in her classroom with her journal open in front of her, casey chasing after silly bo, mike and justin in the basement recording, dad with headphones in, listening to the bros music. it makes me feel like i don't miss much between the times that we all see each other. when i go home and catch up with family and friends, i'll start telling a story and someone will say, "oh yeah, i read that on your blog." huh? oh. then i don't need to talk....:)
by the way, dad, are you giving any cs lewis talks in ohio/BG/cleveland/or pittsburgh areas anytime in the future (because ken wants to see you talk sometime)? i looked on your website and didn't see any ohio engagements, but--man! you are a famous speaker, eh? nationally and internationally known! when you first started reading cs lewis works, did you ever imagine yourself in this position?
oh yeah, dad! yesterday i got a letter from my grammy, who has a friend who lives in the assisted living home where you spoke at in columbus. apparently, this woman is 90 years old and also an accomplished quilter. grammy told her that mom edwards was also a quilter and the lady said she knew and that she had her picture taken with mom. do you all remember that??? what a fun, small world!
welp, i must be going-- pilates is calling my name!
have a fantastic weekend everyone!
Wednesday, February 11, 2004
hello everyone!
short week this week!
tomorrow is a cake day of a conference, so i get to just RECEIVE instead of giving!
then monday and friday we have off-hooray! this time last year we were on our way up to san fran to hang out with the andys and joel and have one of the most fun weekends of our lives! good memories.
oh michelle-i say ditto to what mary said about tossing/donating the wedding paraphanalia. it sounds like you nearly had yourself convinced anyways. plus, it always helps me when i visualize myself in a few months, a year, etc. down the road. will i miss that item because i have a need to use it? or can i make someone else happy with it (by donating it to charity)? because i buy good stuff, gosh darn it! :) plus, this almost seems like a no-brainer, since you surely already have a picture of your cake-topper (and everything else), if you need the memory of it, you can look at the photo. ooh, it makes me feel so good to think of even other people's clutter going!!!! i'm sick, i know! the end.
after 6 years of my harrassment, matt finally gave in and went to get allergy tested, so we could identify and avoid whatever is causing him to be so miserable. which will be nearly impossible, apparently. poor guy had welts all over his little arms!!! he's allergic to every kind of pollen in nearly every kind of tree, weed, or grass. but apparently by living on the coast we have the best possible location to avoid that, because no allergens blow in off the ocean. the only time it causes problems is if we get a santa ana wind from the desert, which kicks up everything. AND that poor guy is allergic to dust mites, which make him the most miserable. so we're doing the affordable accommodations first: covering mattresses and pillows and stuff with dust mite protectors, and washing bedding/curtains every two weeks. the allergist said that carpets are the worst place for housing dust mites, so we'll eventually get wood floors. but that is in the distant future. michelle and ry, can you believe matt is NOT allergic to dogs? the dr. said he's allergic to whatever dogs bring in from outside and spread inside. either way, the dude said that did not give us permission to get a dog. so i'm sad. but who knows? in a couple of years matt may get miraculously healed and we'll be able to get a pup!
last night i went to my kids' opera production of "rip van winkle". they were so cute and the production was so fantastic! people from the san diego opera came and directed and practiced with them every day for 2 hours. i would have loved to have had something like that when i was a kid. i think the best part was seeing some of the rougher kids or kids who have learning disabilities really get to tap into other gifts and talents that they have. also, i have a student who is a severe stutterer, who was able to participate because his part was all singing (stutterers typically do not stutter at all when they sing).
too much valentine's candy for me! i've been bouncing off the walls all day!
happy valentine's day to everyone! i love you all!
have fun in vegas, mare and casey! and bo!
short week this week!
tomorrow is a cake day of a conference, so i get to just RECEIVE instead of giving!
then monday and friday we have off-hooray! this time last year we were on our way up to san fran to hang out with the andys and joel and have one of the most fun weekends of our lives! good memories.
oh michelle-i say ditto to what mary said about tossing/donating the wedding paraphanalia. it sounds like you nearly had yourself convinced anyways. plus, it always helps me when i visualize myself in a few months, a year, etc. down the road. will i miss that item because i have a need to use it? or can i make someone else happy with it (by donating it to charity)? because i buy good stuff, gosh darn it! :) plus, this almost seems like a no-brainer, since you surely already have a picture of your cake-topper (and everything else), if you need the memory of it, you can look at the photo. ooh, it makes me feel so good to think of even other people's clutter going!!!! i'm sick, i know! the end.
after 6 years of my harrassment, matt finally gave in and went to get allergy tested, so we could identify and avoid whatever is causing him to be so miserable. which will be nearly impossible, apparently. poor guy had welts all over his little arms!!! he's allergic to every kind of pollen in nearly every kind of tree, weed, or grass. but apparently by living on the coast we have the best possible location to avoid that, because no allergens blow in off the ocean. the only time it causes problems is if we get a santa ana wind from the desert, which kicks up everything. AND that poor guy is allergic to dust mites, which make him the most miserable. so we're doing the affordable accommodations first: covering mattresses and pillows and stuff with dust mite protectors, and washing bedding/curtains every two weeks. the allergist said that carpets are the worst place for housing dust mites, so we'll eventually get wood floors. but that is in the distant future. michelle and ry, can you believe matt is NOT allergic to dogs? the dr. said he's allergic to whatever dogs bring in from outside and spread inside. either way, the dude said that did not give us permission to get a dog. so i'm sad. but who knows? in a couple of years matt may get miraculously healed and we'll be able to get a pup!
last night i went to my kids' opera production of "rip van winkle". they were so cute and the production was so fantastic! people from the san diego opera came and directed and practiced with them every day for 2 hours. i would have loved to have had something like that when i was a kid. i think the best part was seeing some of the rougher kids or kids who have learning disabilities really get to tap into other gifts and talents that they have. also, i have a student who is a severe stutterer, who was able to participate because his part was all singing (stutterers typically do not stutter at all when they sing).
too much valentine's candy for me! i've been bouncing off the walls all day!
happy valentine's day to everyone! i love you all!
have fun in vegas, mare and casey! and bo!
Saturday, February 07, 2004
man, it's been a fun week!
perfect weather (plus one day of rain that made the ocean wild and purpley)
so matt and i have been taking walks, hikes, and bike rides every day this week.
this morning i went on a cleaning/laundry rampage and it felt so good!!!
then i went over to sunset cliffs (near where we had mom and dad edwards' vow renewal ceremony) and hiked way back in over the sand cliffs.
there's a trail that goes all the way down to the ocean and i intended to take a walk on the sand, but it was high tide so there was no beach. so i perched up on some huge rocks and watched the surf (and surfers) come in. perfect blue/turquoise/clear water today... and i just sat there and enjoyed the LORD!!! matt said something funny when we were hiking the other day. we were just taking in all the beauty and i commented on how close i feel to God when i observe his creation (huge, oddly shaped cliffs, layers of rock and sand, beautiful flowers in feb, etc...) and matt's all, "yeah, it's easier to believe in God when you live in a place like this. but in ohio (sorry people, but you know it's true!), i can see why it is hard to believe in him or even see him, because everything's so ugly." ha! funny and exaggerating, but a hint of truth, nonetheless. there's beauty in ohio, you just have to look harder for it.
so now i'm listening to the strokes and waiting for matt to wake up (what a sleepy slacker!) so he can come out with me and enjoy the perfect day God has made (let us be glad and rejoice in it!).
and just, we're good with the fam in austin someday, as long as we're making enough money to maintain a home out here as well :)!
aw yeah backyard BBQ's!!!!! speaking of which, we still need to get a grill. and a million other things :).
every day i watch the mini videos that ryan and michelle sent of, who else?, HANNAH!!! she is rolling over, smiling, taking a bath, giving raspberries, squealing, flapping around, grabbing her toes, putting her hand in her mouth, and just being bald!!! why is she so darn cute??? so even though we don't live close, we get our fix every day with the videos :) (matt does, too :)
welp, time to get back out there!
have a great weekend, everyone!!!
perfect weather (plus one day of rain that made the ocean wild and purpley)
so matt and i have been taking walks, hikes, and bike rides every day this week.
this morning i went on a cleaning/laundry rampage and it felt so good!!!
then i went over to sunset cliffs (near where we had mom and dad edwards' vow renewal ceremony) and hiked way back in over the sand cliffs.
there's a trail that goes all the way down to the ocean and i intended to take a walk on the sand, but it was high tide so there was no beach. so i perched up on some huge rocks and watched the surf (and surfers) come in. perfect blue/turquoise/clear water today... and i just sat there and enjoyed the LORD!!! matt said something funny when we were hiking the other day. we were just taking in all the beauty and i commented on how close i feel to God when i observe his creation (huge, oddly shaped cliffs, layers of rock and sand, beautiful flowers in feb, etc...) and matt's all, "yeah, it's easier to believe in God when you live in a place like this. but in ohio (sorry people, but you know it's true!), i can see why it is hard to believe in him or even see him, because everything's so ugly." ha! funny and exaggerating, but a hint of truth, nonetheless. there's beauty in ohio, you just have to look harder for it.
so now i'm listening to the strokes and waiting for matt to wake up (what a sleepy slacker!) so he can come out with me and enjoy the perfect day God has made (let us be glad and rejoice in it!).
and just, we're good with the fam in austin someday, as long as we're making enough money to maintain a home out here as well :)!
aw yeah backyard BBQ's!!!!! speaking of which, we still need to get a grill. and a million other things :).
every day i watch the mini videos that ryan and michelle sent of, who else?, HANNAH!!! she is rolling over, smiling, taking a bath, giving raspberries, squealing, flapping around, grabbing her toes, putting her hand in her mouth, and just being bald!!! why is she so darn cute??? so even though we don't live close, we get our fix every day with the videos :) (matt does, too :)
welp, time to get back out there!
have a great weekend, everyone!!!
Tuesday, February 03, 2004
i had a funny conversation with some kids a couple of weeks ago that i don't think i blogged about:
i have a fun group of 3 kindergarten boys who are full of energy. apparently, before christmas break i was reading "the grinch who stole christmas" to them and never finished. so somehow they remembered this in the middle of january and requested that i finish it immediately! of course i did. we got to the part where the grinch realizes, "maybe christmas wasn't about packages, boxes, and bows. maybe christmas was about something more..."
so i asked them, "do you think christmas is about something more than presents?"
and erik said, "yeah, it's God's birthday!"
me: yep!
ruben: what did he say?
kaloub: he said christmas is God's birthday.
ruben: my brother says that Jesus and God are the same person.
me: well, yeah...
erik: and He's KING!
me: yeah!!! He is!
erik: but he's not king of the dinosaurs: T-rex is!!!
ah, tuesday. i had a good day with my kids today. a total of 5 kids are graduating this month from speech! it may not seem like much, but that's quite a bit, actually. and some of them are my total cutie kids that i'm going to miss. but ethically, i can't keep them on my caseload anymore :(. oh well, i'm sure there are more cuties to take their places.
apparently my slacker blogger brother ryan is on the horn so i must be off for some real life chatting :)
-tracey
i have a fun group of 3 kindergarten boys who are full of energy. apparently, before christmas break i was reading "the grinch who stole christmas" to them and never finished. so somehow they remembered this in the middle of january and requested that i finish it immediately! of course i did. we got to the part where the grinch realizes, "maybe christmas wasn't about packages, boxes, and bows. maybe christmas was about something more..."
so i asked them, "do you think christmas is about something more than presents?"
and erik said, "yeah, it's God's birthday!"
me: yep!
ruben: what did he say?
kaloub: he said christmas is God's birthday.
ruben: my brother says that Jesus and God are the same person.
me: well, yeah...
erik: and He's KING!
me: yeah!!! He is!
erik: but he's not king of the dinosaurs: T-rex is!!!
ah, tuesday. i had a good day with my kids today. a total of 5 kids are graduating this month from speech! it may not seem like much, but that's quite a bit, actually. and some of them are my total cutie kids that i'm going to miss. but ethically, i can't keep them on my caseload anymore :(. oh well, i'm sure there are more cuties to take their places.
apparently my slacker blogger brother ryan is on the horn so i must be off for some real life chatting :)
-tracey
Sunday, February 01, 2004
hello everybody!
superboring sunday.
how embarrassing for those teams, though.
it's the biggest moment their careers and everyone is talking about how boring it is going to be.
oh well. i'm just there for the food!
we're going to our friends marni and eddie's today to watch the game.
last night we had a presuperbowl game night at our friends sue and tom's, where we played games!
(michelle you may be interested in the following) and we played "scene it", a movie trivia game--very fun!!!
and the rest of the night we played catchphrase and laughed uncontrollably! at around 12:30 am, they got out cranium and i was starting to drift off on the couch. that is, until, i had a screaming monkey thrown at my face. and later in the night had the stereo turned way up for some crashing thunder noises (it shook the whole house). this guy, tom, apparently grew up being scared by and trying to scare his family; therefore, he continues to try to scare his wife and friends. the funniest one i have seen is when he gets on his hands and knees and waits outside the bathroom door and then when the person comes out he barks so loud and wierd like a dog--when matt received this treatment, he screamed like a girl!!! ha!
anyhoo, yesterday i got to talk my good old friend dyan and her 3 year old peanut, justus!
it's been a blast from the past lately with talking to old college friends out of the blue. so fun!
welp, i'm going to get some breakfast now.
it's so wierd that it is february already--how did that happen?
have a great day everyone!
superboring sunday.
how embarrassing for those teams, though.
it's the biggest moment their careers and everyone is talking about how boring it is going to be.
oh well. i'm just there for the food!
we're going to our friends marni and eddie's today to watch the game.
last night we had a presuperbowl game night at our friends sue and tom's, where we played games!
(michelle you may be interested in the following) and we played "scene it", a movie trivia game--very fun!!!
and the rest of the night we played catchphrase and laughed uncontrollably! at around 12:30 am, they got out cranium and i was starting to drift off on the couch. that is, until, i had a screaming monkey thrown at my face. and later in the night had the stereo turned way up for some crashing thunder noises (it shook the whole house). this guy, tom, apparently grew up being scared by and trying to scare his family; therefore, he continues to try to scare his wife and friends. the funniest one i have seen is when he gets on his hands and knees and waits outside the bathroom door and then when the person comes out he barks so loud and wierd like a dog--when matt received this treatment, he screamed like a girl!!! ha!
anyhoo, yesterday i got to talk my good old friend dyan and her 3 year old peanut, justus!
it's been a blast from the past lately with talking to old college friends out of the blue. so fun!
welp, i'm going to get some breakfast now.
it's so wierd that it is february already--how did that happen?
have a great day everyone!
Monday, January 26, 2004
hello everyone. one week has passed.
it was supposedly a short week, since we had monday off. but why do those four days seem to last so long?
i took the weekend totally easy--just chilled, watched y tu mama tambien, did some scrapbooking, cleaned, and laid around!
i made chicken tortilla soup tonight--so good. i actually put seasoning in it this time, unlike when i made it in cincy :).
i count it a good meal when i have matt moaning and rolling around in pain from being so full. or dozing off... he did all three tonight!
dad, we're glad you had fun in cleveland! can't wait to see all the pictures and hear the stories (maybe you'll do a mini blog journal!).
we haven't had guests since thanksgiving, so it feels sort of strange. i think this is the longest stretch we have gone without guests since we have lived here! it should pick back up in the spring when we have a couple friends scheduled to come out. and then summer, of course, will be out of control! mare-core, do you have any dates yet?
oh yeah, anyone who wants to see pictures from our half marathon, here's a link:
(it's for my number, so the pics are a little different from the ones mare sent around!)
http://www.brightroom.com/view_user_event.asp?EVENTID=3954&PWD=&BIB=4802
have a great week!
-tracey
it was supposedly a short week, since we had monday off. but why do those four days seem to last so long?
i took the weekend totally easy--just chilled, watched y tu mama tambien, did some scrapbooking, cleaned, and laid around!
i made chicken tortilla soup tonight--so good. i actually put seasoning in it this time, unlike when i made it in cincy :).
i count it a good meal when i have matt moaning and rolling around in pain from being so full. or dozing off... he did all three tonight!
dad, we're glad you had fun in cleveland! can't wait to see all the pictures and hear the stories (maybe you'll do a mini blog journal!).
we haven't had guests since thanksgiving, so it feels sort of strange. i think this is the longest stretch we have gone without guests since we have lived here! it should pick back up in the spring when we have a couple friends scheduled to come out. and then summer, of course, will be out of control! mare-core, do you have any dates yet?
oh yeah, anyone who wants to see pictures from our half marathon, here's a link:
(it's for my number, so the pics are a little different from the ones mare sent around!)
http://www.brightroom.com/view_user_event.asp?EVENTID=3954&PWD=&BIB=4802
have a great week!
-tracey
Sunday, January 18, 2004
WOOOOOOOHOOOOOOO!!!!!
yesssssssssssssss!!!!!
my first half marathon, completed!!!!
mare and i had so much fun and we ran it in 2 hours, 15 minutes!!!!!!!
here's the breakdown:
first 2miles--just fun, everyone chatting and really thick with people, just a blur--did we just run 2 miles without even noticing?
between mile 2 and 3-okay, i'm working a little, we're running with the ocean, my knee is killing, mare and i are still talking pretty consistently.
miles 3-10: delirious time for tracey, focused, in my head, runner's high (at one point i became so out of it that a guy was holding out some clear gel stuff on tongue depressor sticks and i grabbed one, thinking it was energy gel and i almost ate it!!! thank God the guy said, "vaseline" (for blisters) and it registered before i put it in my mouth. mare and ladies running next to us were laughing and making fun of me...)
matt was waiting for us at mile 5 and mile 8 with the videocamera!!!!
mile 10-12: ouch, major knee pain, mary helped talk me through it and even let me lean on her shoulder on a rough downhill, but my body was a machine, limbs moving without trying, trance-like rhythm, a little light-headed (seeing a few spots at times) so really needing that water and energy gel (which we finally did obtain around mile 10--no vaseline!!!). once we got to mile 10, we were feeling it, but the mental, "3 miles left, we can do it" definitely got us through. lots of verbal encouragement to each other for these last 3.
mile 13.1: uh, the longest mile ever, because no one was there cheering us on so it was quiet, just footsteps and breathing. pretty soon we saw matt and the videocamera with less than 1/10th of a mile to go. mare and i crossed the finish line holding hands in the air. and we thanked the Lord instantly.
then we got medals and water and food and we stretched and made the trek home.
getting out of the car and into the house = walking like very old women, creaky, barely moving legs.
then the hot tub--ahhhh
then a nap- zzzzzz
and i'm still high!!!!!!
thanks mare, for training with and being there with on one of the best days of my life.
and thank you jesus!!!!
~tracey
yesssssssssssssss!!!!!
my first half marathon, completed!!!!
mare and i had so much fun and we ran it in 2 hours, 15 minutes!!!!!!!
here's the breakdown:
first 2miles--just fun, everyone chatting and really thick with people, just a blur--did we just run 2 miles without even noticing?
between mile 2 and 3-okay, i'm working a little, we're running with the ocean, my knee is killing, mare and i are still talking pretty consistently.
miles 3-10: delirious time for tracey, focused, in my head, runner's high (at one point i became so out of it that a guy was holding out some clear gel stuff on tongue depressor sticks and i grabbed one, thinking it was energy gel and i almost ate it!!! thank God the guy said, "vaseline" (for blisters) and it registered before i put it in my mouth. mare and ladies running next to us were laughing and making fun of me...)
matt was waiting for us at mile 5 and mile 8 with the videocamera!!!!
mile 10-12: ouch, major knee pain, mary helped talk me through it and even let me lean on her shoulder on a rough downhill, but my body was a machine, limbs moving without trying, trance-like rhythm, a little light-headed (seeing a few spots at times) so really needing that water and energy gel (which we finally did obtain around mile 10--no vaseline!!!). once we got to mile 10, we were feeling it, but the mental, "3 miles left, we can do it" definitely got us through. lots of verbal encouragement to each other for these last 3.
mile 13.1: uh, the longest mile ever, because no one was there cheering us on so it was quiet, just footsteps and breathing. pretty soon we saw matt and the videocamera with less than 1/10th of a mile to go. mare and i crossed the finish line holding hands in the air. and we thanked the Lord instantly.
then we got medals and water and food and we stretched and made the trek home.
getting out of the car and into the house = walking like very old women, creaky, barely moving legs.
then the hot tub--ahhhh
then a nap- zzzzzz
and i'm still high!!!!!!
thanks mare, for training with and being there with on one of the best days of my life.
and thank you jesus!!!!
~tracey
Saturday, January 17, 2004
hello everyone.
just a quick post and then someday i'll write a real blog again!
in less than 24 hours, mare and i will be running our first half marathon (for those of you who don't know, that's 13.1 miles).
please, Lord, keep us injury-free!
yeah!!!! wooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!
so much nervous excited energy!!!!!
~tracey
just a quick post and then someday i'll write a real blog again!
in less than 24 hours, mare and i will be running our first half marathon (for those of you who don't know, that's 13.1 miles).
please, Lord, keep us injury-free!
yeah!!!! wooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!
so much nervous excited energy!!!!!
~tracey
Thursday, January 08, 2004
Sunday, January 04, 2004
well, we're finally home!
for those of you who don't know, we've had quite an adventure getting back here to san diego.
we were supposed to fly back on friday, jan2, so we would be home on our anniversary for the first time in 5 years.
but alas, it was not to be.
as soon as we checked in at the airport, the lady at the counter told us that all flights to chicago (our 1st of 2 layovers) were delayed until later in the evening. she said that they would most likely be cancelled, but that there was a chance that she could get us to chicago late that night (where we would have to get a hotel room or spend the night in the airport). so we decided to rent our car back for one more day (much less expensive than a hotel in chi-town) and drive back to heidi and ken's, where our towels were still hanging in the bathroom and our bed was still made! we ended up having a fantastic extra night!
long story short, saturday we went to the airport again, went in a TINY plane from cleveland to washington dc, and then dc to los angeles. the flight from dc took forever, due to some wierd winds, so we had to run to our connection in another terminal in LA. of course, we missed our flight. and the girl at that desk said, "okay, i can get you on the 6:45 flight" and i'm thinking, "jeesh, we could drive home and get there faster", and then she says "that's tomorrow morning." at this point, matt turned funny and mean and started huffing and puffing. thank God she got us on the next flight out (just an hour later, not too bad at all).
and we finally got home around 7:30. whew!
happy 6th anniversary to us! :)
we had a great time visiting family and friends this christmas and new years.
i wish people weren't sick, though! michael, justin, dad at the edwards household (gramps later...)
ryan, michelle, and matt at the good household...(hannah later...)
i felt good, though.
(michelle--don't beat yourself up over not getting the flu shot--there are MANY flu strains going around--remember you were also exposed to columbus, cincy, and BG germs as well--and it is MOST LIKELY that the flu shot you would have received in lexington would not have been the flu virus that you caught).
highlights from our visit with heidi and ken:
-matt and isaac, their german schnauzer, became best buddies--finally! a dog that matt is not allergic to (i had done some research a few months ago and found out that shnauzers and poodles usually don't give people allergic reactions. poodles = no-no ever.)
-at midnight, we went running outside, armed with confetti, horns, party hats, etc. from emily and kevin's gift to matt. matt and ken each had a can of silly string and proceded to spray me and heidi each with an entire can! i was laughing so hard i couldn't even stand up!
-yummy fondue--2 types of cheese fondue and a meat fondue, and a chocolate fondue.
welp,
i'm trying to recover from a migraineish type incident that i caught before it blew up.
but i still have residual head trauma, so i need to stop looking at this computer screen.
have a great day back to work everyone!
tracey
for those of you who don't know, we've had quite an adventure getting back here to san diego.
we were supposed to fly back on friday, jan2, so we would be home on our anniversary for the first time in 5 years.
but alas, it was not to be.
as soon as we checked in at the airport, the lady at the counter told us that all flights to chicago (our 1st of 2 layovers) were delayed until later in the evening. she said that they would most likely be cancelled, but that there was a chance that she could get us to chicago late that night (where we would have to get a hotel room or spend the night in the airport). so we decided to rent our car back for one more day (much less expensive than a hotel in chi-town) and drive back to heidi and ken's, where our towels were still hanging in the bathroom and our bed was still made! we ended up having a fantastic extra night!
long story short, saturday we went to the airport again, went in a TINY plane from cleveland to washington dc, and then dc to los angeles. the flight from dc took forever, due to some wierd winds, so we had to run to our connection in another terminal in LA. of course, we missed our flight. and the girl at that desk said, "okay, i can get you on the 6:45 flight" and i'm thinking, "jeesh, we could drive home and get there faster", and then she says "that's tomorrow morning." at this point, matt turned funny and mean and started huffing and puffing. thank God she got us on the next flight out (just an hour later, not too bad at all).
and we finally got home around 7:30. whew!
happy 6th anniversary to us! :)
we had a great time visiting family and friends this christmas and new years.
i wish people weren't sick, though! michael, justin, dad at the edwards household (gramps later...)
ryan, michelle, and matt at the good household...(hannah later...)
i felt good, though.
(michelle--don't beat yourself up over not getting the flu shot--there are MANY flu strains going around--remember you were also exposed to columbus, cincy, and BG germs as well--and it is MOST LIKELY that the flu shot you would have received in lexington would not have been the flu virus that you caught).
highlights from our visit with heidi and ken:
-matt and isaac, their german schnauzer, became best buddies--finally! a dog that matt is not allergic to (i had done some research a few months ago and found out that shnauzers and poodles usually don't give people allergic reactions. poodles = no-no ever.)
-at midnight, we went running outside, armed with confetti, horns, party hats, etc. from emily and kevin's gift to matt. matt and ken each had a can of silly string and proceded to spray me and heidi each with an entire can! i was laughing so hard i couldn't even stand up!
-yummy fondue--2 types of cheese fondue and a meat fondue, and a chocolate fondue.
welp,
i'm trying to recover from a migraineish type incident that i caught before it blew up.
but i still have residual head trauma, so i need to stop looking at this computer screen.
have a great day back to work everyone!
tracey