Tuesday, December 25, 2007

Monday, December 24, 2007

URLACHER!

The Bears may not be in the playoffs this year but...



Two victories over the Packers this season. So, so sweet.

Jason and I love to imagine Brian Urlacher with a voice like the Incredible Hulk. As in, "URLACHER SMASH! GET BALL! RAWRRRR!"



Monday, December 17, 2007

No Longer a Toddler

baker01.jpg

I officially have only KIDS now in my house. No babies, toddlers, or anything of the sort.

*Sniff*




P.S. Check the Gessner Girls blog for Ava's birthday video later today.

Wednesday, December 5, 2007

Today's Workout

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And you're not seeing even half of it. Points for Mom!

Monday, November 26, 2007

Obligatory Devin Hester Post

You didn't think I'd let today go by without mentioning the TWO touchdown returns Devin Hester made for the Bears yesterday did you?



My favorite part is on the second half of the clip where he hurdles the Broncos kicker. So good!

Chicago Bears 2007 season: Not Dead... yet.

Friday, November 23, 2007

Numbers

So I can run a mile in just under nine minutes now! Which... is really not all that impressive seeing that this woman won the New York City Marathon averaging a 5.5 minute mile AFTER having a baby earlier this year. But this is me we're talking about so it's respectable. Of course every mile after the first one seems to get just a little bit slower as I start putting in minutes of walking but I usually can squeeze in two miles in twenty minutes, three in thirty one, four in forty-three and so on. And if you can believe that some days I log nearly an hour on the ol' treadmill I can get to five miles in just under fifty-five minutes. Boo ya.

I think I would run faster if I had one of these guys kicking my butt:

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Jillian rules. The Biggest Loser anyone? Anyone? This show has totally replaced Extreme Makeover: Home Edition as my weekly dose of tear-jerking inspirational reality tv. (If you believe such a thing exists.) PLUS, it's hosted by Sami Brady from Days of Our Lives! Astounding weight loss stories aside how can you not love that?

Saturday, November 3, 2007

You Know You've Been Brainwashed When...

You're driving in the car singing along to High School Musical 2 on XM Kids when you realize there are no children in your car.

Tuesday, October 30, 2007

Speaking of My Pants

As in, those that no longer fit. But in a good way, not the way that they usually don't fit. I know! POOR ME.

But seriously. It has been nine weeks since I changed my diet and I feel so good. I'm sticking to my exercise schedule and instead of rewarding myself with candy bars and french fries after a workout (what was up with that anyway?) I'm eating healthy foods, drinking tons of water, and honestly seeing numbers on the scale I haven't seen since before I first got pregnant ALMOST EIGHT YEARS AGO.

I'm not quite ready to share any numbers yet because I plan to stay on my strict program until the end of the year but let's just say I'm enjoying a moderate success so far. Hopefully in January I can modify what I'm doing into some kind of maintenance program so when everyone is making New Years weight loss resolutions I'll already be in the best shape of my life. Take that thirtieth year!

Toot toot.

Monday, October 22, 2007

Sunday, October 14, 2007

The Trials of Living in Packer Country

I really, really want to watch the Bears game today but they are playing at the same time and on the same network as the Packers this week.

Boo!



Friday, October 12, 2007

AL!

Nobel Peace Prize is announced today!

How can I love somebody so much now that I hated voting for seven years ago? The thought of a Gore/Obama ticket makes me weak in the knees. (Won't ever happen though, but a girl can dream...)

Friday, October 5, 2007

Word.

(from CNN.com) – An astute reporter for CNN affiliate KCRG-TV noticed there was something missing from Sen. Barack Obama’s wardrobe. He wasn’t wearing the common American flag lapel pin, a fashion fixture in post-9/11 politics used to display patriotism following the attacks.

"I decided I won't wear that pin on my chest,” the Democratic presidential candidate told the reporter Tuesday in Iowa City, Iowa. “Instead, I'm going to try to tell the American people what I believe will make this country great. Hopefully that will be a testimony to my patriotism."

Obama touched upon the exchange again Wednesday at a speech in Independence, Iowa.

"I haven't worn that pin in probably a very long time. I wore it right after 9/11. But after a while, you start noticing people wearing the lapel pin but not acting very patriotic,” he said. “My attitude is that I'm less concerned with what you're wearing on you lapel than what's in your heart. You show your patriotism by how you treat your fellow Americans, especially those ones who serve."

Obama has been campaigning throughout Eastern Iowa since Monday.

Wednesday, October 3, 2007

Oh, Internet. Sigh.

Flickr, you know I love you. But why must, whenever I post pictures of my feet or the shoes I'm wearing, I always get comments from the foot fetish people? Gross.



Monday, October 1, 2007

I'll Stop Posting You Tube Videos One of These Days

Why didn't anybody TELL ME that the theme song to the show "Weeds" is Little Boxes on the Hillside? I NEED to know these things.



One of my old faves.

Love This



(Steph, I know you are reading this on the school computer instead of studying and you can't see the video! Hee. )

Friday, September 28, 2007

FINALLY.

Michelle is having a baby BOY!!!!!

Squeeee!

Thursday, September 27, 2007

HELLLLLOOOOOOOOOO?

I never blog anymore. Sorry.

I've actually been keeping a private journal dedicated to my fitness goals and it seems that after spending all that time logging every salad or fat-free pudding cup I've eaten or every tenth of a mile I've run, I'm kind of spent on the life-documentation front.

Anyway..... I'm actually pleased with my progress at the close of the first month. But I won't tell you just how successful I've been until I'm closer to my goal. Because I'm secretive like that.

Monday, September 10, 2007

Do-It-Yourselfer


I have started stripping and restaining the built-in cabinet in our dining room. It's been a slow process but so far I removed all the drawers and cabinet doors and was able to refinish them outside in the back yard. The finishied stain looks really good-much better than this picture, in fact- but as you can see now the cabinet has a tan line of some sort. It will be hard to strip the old stain off of the parts that can't be removed from the house because of the fumes and the mess so I'm debating whether or not I'm going to tackle it in the next couple of weeks or wait until spring. I'm really not looking forward to the intense smell permeating the house but on the other hand I can picture the finished product in my mind and it's so purdy! Plus, can't you just see some stained glass in those cabinet windows?

cabinet.jpg
(Pardon the blurriness.)


Wednesday, September 5, 2007

I Am 29 1/2 Today!

Happy half-birthday to me.

So... I've actually stuck to a fairly strict exercise routine for the past six months. Where's my medal? Aside from a few minor aches and pains due mostly to the fact that I am the Queen of Overdoing Things, I've really made some progress and have seen some fair results. Now my goal for the next six months is much less fun because it has to do with me changing the way I eat. In addition to being the Queen of Overdoing Things I am also the Queen of Carbs. It seems that every fall I do this after a summer full of takeout food and cold beer so this time I need to find a way to change the way I eat so that it's something I don't stop doing after I reach my goal.

This past week I've started logging everything I eat at Fitday.com and though I've already lost three pounds I know that this time I have to make some major changes for the long run. I think my problem is that I have a much easier time just eating next to nothing than I do moderating all the foods I love to eat. (Ok, I know that's my problem.) But it's ha-ard!


Wish me luck.

Friday, August 31, 2007

In Case You Had Any Doubts

I am a total nerd.

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Jason took this photo of me completely absorbed in the latest Buffy the Vampire Slayer comic book (which is, by the way, made of awesome*.)


*The phrase "made of awesome" courtesy of the Nerdfighters from Brotherhood 2.0

Wednesday, August 29, 2007

Yes, We're Back!

But... Jason has all the NYC pictures on his computer so I have to wait to get my hands on them and upload them. For the time being though I will share with you two important things I learned on our trip:

1. Everyone in the world has a black piece of luggage with some goofy little piece of yarn tied around the handle in order to distinguish it from other pieces of black luggage with little pieces of yarn on them. At the baggage claim in Milwaukee this is not that disasterous of a problem, but at LaGuardia airport? It's a new situation entirely. I think I need a can of hot pink spray paint.

2. Girls. If you ever visit the Big Apple? Please, please. please wear comfortable shoes. You will pay dearly if you don't.


Ok, hopefully I'll get some photos up tonight. I'm off now to bike away the monstrous amounts of food I ate. (Seriously! I've gained eight pounds this summer even with working out three days a week! Not. Fair. I'm officially revisiting my account at Fitday and putting myself in check.)

Tuesday, August 21, 2007

10

Right now I'm getting ready for my trip tomorrow where I will meet Jason in New York City for our tenth anniversary.

Ten! Yes, really.

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First of all, why didn't somebody tell me I was such a baby when I got married?

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I mean, good lord, I married a teenager!


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Anyway, we're gearing up for a few days of good food, good wine, and some big city fun.

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Smooch!

Sunday, August 12, 2007

Friday, August 10, 2007

The Scene: Watching So You Think You Can Dance? with Juliana while the awesomeness that is Danny Tidwell performs with that annoying Schwimmer girl who is totally going to win the whole show:

Juliana: "Mom, look at his arms! He's all bumpy! "


Now all I can think when I go to the gym is how I'm going to work on my "bumps".

(I realize that this probably belongs on the kiddie blog but as you can see I am short on content this summer so it's going here.)

And now, since I love this show so much, a couple more videos, just for kicks:


I enjoy Mia Michaels' choreography on the show so much that I'm almost able to overlook the Celine Dion bouncing off my eardrums.


Sabra!



Monday, July 23, 2007

Mourning

I've been immersed in my book all weekend. On the couch, in the backyard, on the stairmaster, by the pool... This morning at the pool I got within 100 pages of the end and I started to get really sad and began reading a lot slower. It feels kind of like watching the season finale of Buffy or the ending of Return of the King. I'm dying to see how it all ends but then it, you know, ends.

Back I go.

Thursday, July 12, 2007

Consuming

We saw the new Harry Potter movie last night. Which was awesome, of course, even though it was wildly condensed from the book to the film. And for a movie called Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix there was surprisingly not a whole lot of said Order of the Phoenix. But I guess that happens when you adapt a book thats over a thousand pages long.

I'm so excited for the new book!

Speaking of books, I just finished The Time Travelers Wife and reading it literally put me in a daze. It was sort of like seeing Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind for the first time. I was very sad to be done with it and now I'm flailing around looking for my next good read. Methinks Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows should fit the bill.



Thursday, July 5, 2007

In the Trenches

So..... summer has me distracted. Between working out at the gym, afternoons at the pool, sleepovers, movie theatre trips, park trips, random house projects and breaking up all the fights that pepper all the above activities I feel that I have to officially say:

Summer vacation is kicking my butt.

I don't have much time to check in here but I'm still at least trying to keep up with posting photos on my Flickr account. I think if i actually tried to say that I was giving up the blog thingy then I would inevitably find about a hundred things to talk about the day I took the site down.

And now, I leave you with some running sausages:

sausages.jpg

My neighborhood is awesome!

Tuesday, June 19, 2007

Summer Vacation Dance Party

In my attempt to be a more laid back mom this summer I have already hosted two sleepovers this past week.

Witness:

danceparty.jpg

Let's see how long I can keep this up.




Tuesday, June 12, 2007

Hair Trauma Over. World Resumes.

Luckily my girl is still cute even without all that hair.

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Sigh. It's still taking me a bit to get used to it.

Tomorrow: The last day of school! I may be scarce around here for a while since I have to find ways to keep Miss Juilana occupied for TWO AND A HALF MONTHS. I'm in trouble.

Thursday, June 7, 2007

And How Was YOUR Evening?

Ava cut her own hair tonight.

Deep breath...

It'sonlyhairIt'sonlyhairIt'sonlyhairIt'sonlyhairIt'sonlyhair

I have no more words right now.

Wednesday, June 6, 2007

Sweet.

I just finished watching tonights episode of So You Think You Can Dance and I would just like to point out which style of choreography kicked all the dancers behinds:

Modern. Heh.

(Ok, they call it contemporary on this show, but still. It makes me feel like at least I used to be kind of a tough chick. Just don't ask me to dance hip-hop.)

And just for kicks, something else I can't do:


You really should be watching this show. Thank me later.

Monday, June 4, 2007

Why I Hate Mainstream News

Top story at FoxNews.com right now:

crapnews.jpg

Natalee Holloway's mom and JonBenet Ramsey's dad are dating!

The fact that this is front page news is insulting to me and I so I won't link to the story.

Why does the media torture me so?



Thursday, May 31, 2007

Finished Study (Ok, Almost)

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It still needs a comfy reading chair and next year we'll replace the door to the balcony and the wood casing. (But that's not in the photo so we won't worry about that!)

Saturday, May 26, 2007

Realizing (Again) This Week

Two things I unabashedly love:

1. Rosie O'Donnell. From stand up comedian Rosie, to Queen of Nice with the faux-crush on Tom Cruise Rosie to Loudmouth, Liberal, Lesbian, Sticking-Her-Foot-In-Her-Mouth and Blogging Cryptically About "The View" Rosie. Love her and you can't stop me.

2. So You Think You Can Dance. Duh.

Thursday, May 24, 2007

So Tracey, What Are Your Plans For This Weekend?

Oh, I'm so glad you asked because I'M GOING TO SEE THIS.

Sometimes life is so awesome I can't stand it.

And now, an excerpt for your viewing pleasure:



Wednesday, May 16, 2007

Hellooooo Internet!

How's is going? It seems like so much time has passed since we last chatted. There's so much to talk about! Like, did you hear that Paris Hilton is going to JAIL? Oh wait, I'm sure you already knew that, being that you are the internet, but still! If that isn't the best thing I've heard all week then I don't know what is! Maybe that Chicago is bidding on the 2016 Summer Olympics? Awesome! I can picture already me and the girls riding the train in to catch some 75-pound Romanian gymnasts! This is assuming of course that my kids will want anything to do with me in 2016, but if not I'm sure Steph will still love me and we will wave little American flags and yell "Stick that vault landing!" together. Also, were you aware that The Office is the best thing to happen to my tv since Arrested Development got canceled? And you know the what's even better? People actually watch this show so it won't get canned. Imagine that! So do you think Jim and Pam will ever get together? Because she was all kinds of crazy to turn him down at the end of Season 2. I mean, I'd totally marry him in a heartbeat (that is if I weren't already married and if he wasn't a fictional character.)

So I guess what I'm saying internet is, life is good! The sun is shining, summer is coming, and Paris is headed to the slammer! Woot!

Sunday, May 13, 2007

It's My Day and I'll Do Nothing If I Want To

My lawn chair is calling me.

I love Mother's Day.




Wednesday, May 2, 2007

Hey! It's May!

And that means that I completed my first month of obsessive compulsive running! In other words, I had challenged myself at the end of March to run at least three miles 5-6 times a week throughout the month of April. And I did it! So yay me. I even upped my mileage to four miles a run. (In actuality I run 2.5 miles, walk for .5 and then run another 1.0 for the grand total, but still... )

So now what? Well, for starters I'm loosening up and only going to the gym four times a week this month but still hopefully logging four miles visit. If I may channel the great Ms. Britney Spears for a minute, "Gettin' in shape is HARD y'all!" But seriously, it really is. I'm finally starting to see some results at least so that is giving me a boost. I'm still wearing the same size jeans but I've built up a ton of muscle and I just feel and look more toned (dare I say buff?) over all. I am also aware of how much more muscle weighs than fat so I have banished the scale from my bathroom. And I haven't changed how i eat at all really because, frankly, running makes me HUNGRY. Ravenous may be more like it. Hopefully all this muscle I've built is burning more calories during the day because I'll be damned if a Chipotle Burrito Bol isn't one of the best things you could ever eat in the history of the world. So. Good.

So anyway, I'd probably be further along in this body transformation thing if I could stop eating so much, but news flash- I kind of love to eat. The few times I've dieted in my live I've been successful but that's because I ate next to nothing at all during those times and I have no desire to do that right now seeing that running requires FUEL. And Culver's. Speaking of which, is on it's way to my house right now courtesy of my wonderful husband who probably likes to eat even more than I do. In fact, I'm sure of that.

And on that note I will now prepare to eat cheese fries and watch America's Next Top Model. I think Tyra Banks would approve.

Friday, April 27, 2007

This Is What It Has Come To

This morning before I went to the gym, I downloaded tracks by Prodigy and Nine Inch Nails.

Oh dear. It seems I am turning into a techno-goth girl circa 1997. Either that or a mopey eighth grader from 1992. (Hmmm. That second one sounds familiar...) Despite the fact that listening to these songs outside of the gym experience would make me want to poke out my eardrums, they were surprisingly awesome for running on the treadmill. I've upped my routine to just over four miles now (though to be fair i walk for 5 to 6 minutes at the 2.5 mile mark before resuming running again) High speed angsty rock is helping me accomplish this. So back off!

Sunday, April 22, 2007

I Did Like the Edamame...

First of all, let me just say that all you sushi eating people are nothing short of crazy. CRAZY, I tell you. (And I can say that with authority now because I've actually tasted it instead of just eating veggie tempura in soy sauce.) I didn't even have anything too outlandish either-just a couple of rolls with scallops and salmon. BLARGH! (I do enjoy all the non-fish rolls with just avocado and cucumbers but that doesn't really count.) I absolutely love scallops. But cooked scallops. In a nice cream sauce. (Cold and slimy? Not so much.)

BUT, it was my good friend Russ' birthday and I DO need to try new things so I'm glad i did it. I'm also glad that we went out for ice cream drinks afterwards at At Random, one of the most awesome places in Bay View. And now I can eat all the tempura I want every time we go out for Japanese and Jason can't give me any guff.

Here we are at Izumi's (thanks to Russ for the pictures)


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Enjoying a Tokyo Rose and some witty barb from Jason.


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You may notice here in the top left I have a full plate of sushi that I am mysteriously not touching. The same cannot be said for Jason.



Friday, April 20, 2007

Ick

Jason is making me try sushi tonight. Wish me luck.

Saturday, April 14, 2007

Selfish Much?

So.... over the past few months my goal to make 2007 the Year of Organization kind of morphed into the Year of Attempting to Completely Change My Body Before My Twenties Are Over. Add to the mix the 365 Day Self-Portrait Challenge I've been working on (and enjoying, I have to say) it seems like it's becoming the Year of Me Me Me.

Is is bad of me to say that I kind of like it?

Of course, I need to start doing a little bit of steering back towards my other goals but good lord, it feels good to set aside time for myself for once and do things that make ME happy on a regular basis. And the thing is, I still probably spend 90% of my day doing things for and thinking about the needs of other people. I don't know why it's taken me so long to figure this out. Maybe it's the lack of Oprah in my life.



Wednesday, April 11, 2007

Mother Nature Can BITE ME Today

We are having a snowstorm right now. IN THE MIDDLE OF APRIL.

(The Midwest is awesome, isn't it?)

Sunday, April 8, 2007

Since You're All Dying to Know

Just what kind of music does Tracey run to during all those miles on the treadmill? Well, I'm willing to share (even the embarrassing tracks) because it's late and I'm bored and thinking about what I might listen to tomorrow morning. So here's a little taste (in no particular order):

1. "Soul Meets Body" Death Cab for Cutie
2. "Since You've Been Gone" Kelly Clarkson (Laugh all you want- it's darn catchy.)
3. "Army of Me" and "Big Time Sensuality" Bjork (Most Bjork songs are good for running if you ask me.)
4."Dress", "Long Snake Moan" or "50 Foot Queenie" PJ Harvey
5. "Sweet Dreams" or "Missionary Man" The Eurythmics (ok, just anything by the Eurythmics)
6. "Candyman" Christina Aguilera (I know, I know...)
7."Welcome to the Jungle" Guns N Roses (Some things never change.)
8. "16 Military Wives" The Decemberists
9. "Intervention" The Arcade Fire (Maybe not the best running song but I love this band right now.)
10. "Send Me an Angel" Real Life (I don't even remember how I ended up with this song in my iTunes library?)
11. "She-Bop", "I Drove All Night" or "The Goonies Theme" Cyndi Lauper (I will love Cyndi Lauper forever and you can't stop me.)
12. "The Laws Have Changed" The New Pornographers
13. Most songs off of the Pixies "Doolittle" album

There also may be some Chris Daughtry (from American Idol) on my iPod. The fifteen-year-old me totally hates me now and thinks I'm fantastically lame. (Of course I think the fifteen-year-old me is pretty lame too so there.)

I'd like to find some more rock music to run to but I'm an indie rock girl and most of that is terribly unsuited for running. I also think I need more old school Madonna in my life. Thoughts? Suggestions?

EDITED TO ADD: I was just thinking, why am I not running to some upbeat Tori Amos already? Sometimes I make no sense.

Sunday, April 1, 2007

I Am The Strongest Woman Alive

Ok, well not quite. But I'm FINALLY starting to make some real progress on the running front. As in I can now run for a full THIRTY MINUTES nonstop! That's somewhere around 2.8 miles! (I don't want to toot my own horn but, ok let's face it, I really want to toot my own horn!) I wasn't sure if I believed the people who told me I would stay at the same level for quite some time and then all of a sudden have a breakthrough. But, after weeks and weeks of chugging along it happened. Basically one day this week I decided to lower my pace by about .2-.3 miles per hour and everything fell into place. Since then I've been back to the gym every day to work even harder.

I am nothing if not obsessed.

Anyway, now my goal for April is of course to blow past the three mile mark and hopefully turn my body into a lean, mean, running machine. I'm just now starting to see results after eight long weeks (thanks a lot slowing metabolism) so the plan is to take the next eight weeks and really begin reshaping my nearly thirty year old behind.

See again: OBSESSION

Monday, March 26, 2007

Pause

Not that I'm a very prolific blogger in the first place, but now that spring has sprung here in the Midwest I think this may call for an official hiatus.

Catch you in another week or so...

Monday, March 12, 2007

The Price We Pay

The thing about taking care of kids who have the stomach flu is that you always end up catching it yourself in the end. And you will undoubtedly have it the worst.

I'm starting to feel better today. I miss food. We'll talk more tomorrow.

P.S. Jason is awesome. (And also a Mr. Smarty-Pants for getting a flu shot this year.)

Friday, March 9, 2007

Sick Day

Hi, my name is Tracey. I clean up barf.

Monday, March 5, 2007

Seriously. Am I <i>Still</i> Not Thirty Yet?

For quite some time now I've been feeling as if I was in my thirties when in fact today is only my twenty-ninth birthday. (You know, the birthday I will be celebrating every year now from here on out. Har.) When I was in high school I used to joke that I felt like fifteen going on thirty, and aside from having the maturity to not throw pebbles at my English teacher when his head was turned like some people I knew (coughJohnBrearleycough) I now know that I really couldn't have been more wrong about that. However, since I've been married nearly ten years now and a mother for almost seven, i sometimes marvel at just how long this twentysomething thing has lasted. I really do feel like Oldy McOldins sometimes.

So..... IT'S MY BIRTHDAY! And Jason bought me an iPod Nano!

ipodnano.jpg


NANO! Whee! With a nifty little arm band thingy for when I'm running!

We also went out to dinner at Carnevor on Saturday night and where I enjoyed a filet-induced coma and a bottle of wine that I will NOT tell you how much it cost because frankly, I'm kind of embarassed by the indulgence while also still salivating over just. how. awesome it was.

Now excuse me while I drag my old, decrepit self to the gym to work off all those Girl Scout cookies and to break in my new iPod.

Thursday, March 1, 2007

The Joys of Being a Grown Up

I'm eating Girl Scout cookies for breakfast. And you can't stop me!

Friday, February 23, 2007

Friday Randomness

I love my gym. I've been there I think ten times in the past two weeks. It rocks. Or at least it did until today on the treadmill when I got a mean cramp in my left calf that just kept getting worse and worse. Now I'm sitting here with an Icy Hot patch on my leg and whining like a baby. I am the queen of overdoing it when I find something new that I adore. I love my gym even though they put my name as Tracey Gassner on my membership card. Now, that's pretty bad. I'd take a picture of it and show it to you except for the fact that my camera is on the first floor and I'm in the attic and I won't put my gimpy leg through that kind of pain right now. (What's so hard about the name Gessner anyway? I have fond memories of being addressed as Tracey Geffner, Gefsner and Duffner.)


Did someone say the word attic? Yes! I'm in the new attic office RIGHT NOW which is ohsoclose to being finished! We need to have the new window put in and the floors sanded.

atticoffice.jpg

It looks kind of rough now but trust me, it's going to be pretty sweet. Then Jason can fully move up there and his old office is mine, all mine. Stay tuned for pictures of my Old Timey Library Room. Smoking jacket optional.

And now, I have some random things to get off of my chest and I'm not even going to try to tie them together in any sort of way:

1. I think my neighbors must hate me. Why? Because they have figured out my absolute worst pet peeve and pursued it with a fiery passion. That being Christmas lights after the new year.

Observe:
februaryxmas.jpg

I know it's a bad, blurry picture taken from my bedroom window but I think you get the jist. They are STILL going strong even in this final week of February. Somebody has to go out there every night and turn them on too. WHY???

2. Thank you very much Philadelphia Cream Cheese company for coming up with a ready-to-eat-out-of-the-darn-tub cheesecake filling. My butt will appreciate the extra layer of padding. Thanks a lot.

3. Good lord, I never thought in my life I would be blogging about how much I like a Christina Aguilera song. But SERIOUSLY. I never thought I'd see a pop star rocking the Andrew's Sisters style on MTV. The last music video I watched on You Tube was of Gwen Stefani desecrating the Sound of Music and between that and the mediocre singers American Idol this year, I haven't had much hope for the state of pop music today. (Have I ever had much hope for it though? I might have to rethink this.)

That being said, I'm almost ashamed of how much I liked this song.



That's all i got. Have a great weekend everyone!

Friday, February 16, 2007

Just In Case You Were Wondering

Jason and I are totally rooting for the chubby afro guy on American Idol this year.




When I told juliana that I liked him because he was funny she replied, "But Mo-om, you HAVE to vote on the SINGING."

This coming from the girl who thought Kellie Pickler was goddess of all things musical.

Anyway, I happen to think that the chubby afro boy can sing too so I'm still rooting for him. And for Gina from Naperville. Represent!

Monday, February 12, 2007

I Have Seen the Light

For the first time in my life, I am joining a gym.

Let my new obsession commence!

Saturday, February 10, 2007

Self Portrait






IMG_0440


Originally uploaded by Tracey Gessner.


I'm thinking of joining Flickr's 365-day self portrait challenge on my 29th birthday. I just can't figure out if I can be interesting for that long. We'll see...



Wednesday, February 7, 2007

Things To Be Grateful For When a Plumbing Accident Floods Your Kitchen with Ice Cold Water in February

1. At least nothing valuable was destroyed (i.e. computer equipment, rugs or photos).

2. At least we didn't have our new cabinets installed yet.

3. At least it wasn't poo.

Thursday, February 1, 2007

Light Up My Life (otherwise known as Thank Jebus for Mr. Puri)

Let it be known that nothing can brighten up an ordinary day like random Buffy/Angel merchandise showing up on your doorstep.

Behold:

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Yes, that is indeed an Angel "Smile Time" Puppet from the (canceled but much loved) series "Angel." (And if you knew what that was without clicking on the link you are most indeed a Buffy geek and therefore, friend to me.)

Just when I thought that my friend Paul couldn't give me a better gift than showing up to our high school reunion and dancing like this. Lo, indeed.


And it even came with an Angel Pylean demon figurine! Love, love, love it.

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Grr. Argh.

Monday, January 29, 2007

Keep On the Sunny Side

Jason is in New York yet again. I try to make myself feel better by thinking about how I have the whole bed to myself, how no one else will eat the sugar-free pudding cups I've been hoarding in the fridge and how I can watch things like the Janice Dickinson Modeling Agency on Oxygen without being made fun of. Of course now that I'm admitting it on the internet it kind of negates the not being made fun of part but my point is that there are positives to me not being in New York with him! POSITIVES, YOU HEAR ME?

Sigh.

Wednesday, January 24, 2007

Public Plea

Can we PLEEEEEEASE use our tax refund money to go to the Bellagio?

(Help me out here, people.)

Monday, January 22, 2007

Renewal

My 29th birthday is in six weeks. About six months ago I decided that I would work to be in my best shape ever for the final year of my twenties. Up until November I was steadily on track to reach that goal, however, since the holidays I've definitely been in a downward spiral. The good news is that I do work out to some extent every day- I just don't eat nearly as healthy as I should anymore. After dropping thirteen pounds before my high school reunion I've put probably eight of those back on. Bah! Oh steak and potatoes, how I love you. And ice cream. And anything carb-tastic. So... over the next six weeks I will be embarking on a renewed regimen so that hopefully I can celebrate my twenty-ninth year with head held high.

And steak.

Sunday, January 21, 2007

Open Mouth, Insert Foot

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I will be watching my first Super Bowl game in twenty-one years!

Friday, January 19, 2007

Tuesday, January 16, 2007

I Never Learn

I know I say this every year but for the love of god WHY can't a girl buy a pair of SNOW BOOTS in JANUARY????

Thursday, January 11, 2007

Mmmmm.... Demolition

It's January again and the dust is flying!

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Say goodbye to the 70's style wood paneling in Ava's room! It was nice while it lasted... Sort of.

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Oh yes, and more paint:

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Now if only I could take a sledgehammer to that sink.

Wednesday, January 10, 2007

Back. Log.

We've been back for two days now and I'm still not done getting caught up with this thing called life. It probably doesn't help that I've unoffficially dubbed 2007 the Year of Organization so that's bound to make me feel daunted.

Coming Soon: The Great Vacation Photo Dump. Stay tuned.

Monday, January 1, 2007

Whatever Will Be Will Be

I'm not a fan of making New Years resolutions because it seems that making an official declaration all but confirms it will be broken within the week. However, I do have a few small goals that I will be working toward in the coming year. I will pretend that they are something completely different than resolutions. Just go with it.

1) Be more responsible financially and put more money into savings/investmensts.
2) Stay the course with my health goal on being in my best shape ever when I turn 29.
3) Continue working on and improving our home.
4) Slowly organize and wrangle all our mountains of stuff- photos, videos, files etc.
5) Not to feel guilty when spending more than "x" amount of time on myself. (Whether it's something creative or just lying on the couch reading a book.)

Oh yes, and of course I will pay more attention to my languishing blog. And hopefully go to Vegas. And spend one weekend watching all three Lord of the Rings movies back to back. But now I'm just getting sidetracked...


We are headed to Florida for the next week for a little post-New Year's vacation. Hopefully we will not be dressed like this:

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See you soon!

Happy 2007!

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This is what happens when you let a three-year-old and two six-year-olds stay up until midnight on New Year's Eve.