me to a T - Tracey Odachowski

Wow. She woke up early today. Only 11 hours of sleep. She must be exhausted losing that much sleep.

(ok, Steph, I swear. Teasing over. For now.)

Our niece, Stephanie, called two nights ago, asking if she could come visit from Baltimore. OF COURSE. Silly question on her part. I mean, HELLO? live in babysitter? Um, OK! She’s 18 and just got her license a few weeks ago, and I guess the gas money was burning a hole in her pocket. Never mind that I had to bite my nails while she drove through both B-more and DC AND Richmond AND Friday evening Virginia Beach traffic to get here. But anyway, she got here yesterday evening. Sat up with Chris and I watching a horrible movie until 1:30am. No big, right? I mean, teenagers stay up that late. So she went to bed when we did.

And slept until 4:30 pm.

That’s 15 hours.

I can’t even remember the last time I slept that long, let alone uninterrupted, during the day, in the one bedroom of this house that we haven’t installed a fan in yet. (can we say HOT?) Yup, 15 hours. She comes here to get away from stress and relax a bit…do you think she was relaxed????? Man, I forget what it is like to be a teenager. Oh, how I would LOVE to sleep for 15 hours. Although, I’m not quite sure my body would know how to at this point.

So, when was the last time that YOU slept until 4:30 pm??? And it doesn’t count if you worked night shift the night before.

Ok, after this post, I don’t think that ANYONE will be able to complain that I never post pictures. Because I’m about to post nearly 25 of them.

Here is our Nags Head Beach Week in Pictures.

First of all, a big huge thank you goes out to this lovely woman:

I am still so very touched that Erin asked us to join her (and even moreso that her mom said yes!) I had a wonderful time, we all did, and it is thanks to her.

So, yes, the 30s finally found me. Last Monday was the big day. Chris gave me my coffee in a black mug that morning (for Black Monday as he said), I watched the shuttle land about 13 minutes before it was official, then spent the day listening to my husband harrass me. He sang songs to me on the way to the beach, substituting all of the words with ‘30′. He drew a 29 in the sand, then took a picture of it as the surf washed it away. He’s mean, I tell ya. Never mind that he is 31! Evidentally the news of my birthday travelled fast because Erin’s entire family was giving me well-wishes, even paddling out on the surf to tell me. Too cute. Oh, and that cake pictured above? Yeah, that’s the one that I realized 3 days too late should have gone in the fridge and subsequently led to my demise on Thursday. Ugh. STILL recovering from that mistake. So, anyway, my birthday present to me, from me, with love was….

CRABS!!!!!!!!

I saw WAY to many billboards advertising crabs on the drive there, and I got a HUGE craving. So the boys picked up a bushel Monday night, and we invited Erin’s parents, Aunt Mary, cousin Judy, and sister Sarah to join us. They are a FUN bunch!!! And man, those crabs were GOOOOOOOOOOD. Yum. So worth the $100 per bushel.

Ok, back to the beach. Here’s a few pics from there:

The one and only family picture of the week (never mind how I look in a bathing suit. Remember, Weight Watchers. I’ll look better next summer. )

Gabe at the beach. The boy totally dug it. It was a bit hard to tear him away. He even discovered a new passion of boogie boarding.

Em at the beach. Thanks to the cooler, she thinks you are just supposed to eat at the beach. As soon as we would get there, she was ready for lunch. Don’t get me wrong, though, she LOVED the sand. So much so that some (I mean, alot) of it got into her diaper and gave her two huge blisters on either cheek that she is still trying to heal from. She even started wanting to go play in the surf by mid-week!

Ah, yes. Then there was the Tropical Storm that wasn’t. Beryl. We were supposed to get hit pretty hard on Wednesday, but, thankfully, it changed course, and instead we just watched the edge of it pass by us as we sat on the beach. It made the ocean unbearable though - riptides suck.

Tuesday night we took a trip to the Sand Dunes to take pictures, but we got there too late. Em’s bedtime. She wasn’t cooperating. This was the best that I got:

I have to post these two that I took of Erin and Spencer, too. Aren’t they stunning? Why couldn’t my kids cooperate like that?

Just before I got sick, we tie-dyed shirts at Erin’s grandma’s house. That’s her in the second picture dipping Em’s shirt.

Last but not least, my stomach cooperated long enough on Friday to take the kids to the Wright Brothers Museum. Gabe actually wanted to go there instead of the beach. I had been telling him all week about the first flight, and he really wanted to go. He’s such a little airplane lover!

Ok, that’s it! That was our week in a nutshell!

I had to giggle at Kelly’s comment on the last post. Yes, I am home. Still recovering. It seems that one should not eat 3-day-old birthday cake that was SUPPOSED to go in the refrigerator. Unfortunately, I did not know that until AFTER I ate it. Ugh. So the last two days at the beach were a little rough going, and, quite frankly, almost a week later, I’m still trying to recover. Thank GOD for Tim and Erin who took care of Gabe for me while I napped, and didn’t bad-mouth me TOO much when I had to skip out of the house early on Friday before we had cleaned. SOOOO sorry Erin!

Anywho, I do still have to download the cameras (I TOLD you I was behind!) Hopefully tonight I’ll get some of the really fabulous pictures up.

So don’t worry. Yes, my birthday did finally catch up w/ me, but it did not suck me into oblivion. I’m still here, I’m 30, and gosh darn it, I feel kinda sophisticated now! (30 will do that to you) OH, and for those that have seen me in person lately, yes, there is still paint in my hair. If you see some of it, will you please let me know so that I can get rid of it? Shampoo doesn’t work.

Heading to NC. And when I return, who knows, maybe that elusive birthday will have FINALLY found me. Try not to miss me too much!

HOT like mine!

Wanna drool some more? Look here. Yeah it’s so cool. Want me to shock you some more? My scrubby gave it to me for my birthday. (thanks for the email to him Shirlster). You know, that birthday that I keep talking about, having parties for, getting presents for, but it never comes? That’s the one. T-minus 3 days, 7 hours, and 19 minutes, by the way. So yes, I got it early b/c I’m scrappin with the girls tomorrow night and headed to the beach next week. One less thing/present he had to pack in the van. I luuuuuuuuuuuuv it. And it’s suede. If I recall correctly (and, I’m sure the SARAT girls could confirm) this is the same bag that I was fondling at CHA Winter in Vegas. It’s suede, dude. It’s awesome. Ahhhhhhhhhhh.

So, speaking of the beach, leaving in a day and a half!!! I cannot WAIT to spend some cool time with Erin!. We even decided tonight that we’re going to TRY to get some family portraits of each other on the beach. I think that excites me the most. The only good family portrait we have is from when Gabe was 2. I set up the tripod on the beach in Destin, and snapped away. Looking forward to finally having Emily in one!!! Poor kid - I need to put some pictures up in this house.

Ok, gotta head to bed. It’s 2:18am, and I have to wake up in THREE (yes, 3) hours to drive to a doctor appointment. Except my sick husband keeps rolling over and wiggling and figgeting and God knows what else and keeping me awake. Grrrrrrrrr. Good thing he bought me my cool bag or else I’d have to get really mad at him right now. I’m sooo freakin tired!!! Niters!

6 days, 8 hours, 29 minutes…

30 is getting closer. And I swear I’m fine w/ that. But it is just way too much fun making a big deal about this one! I mean, you don’t hit the decade marks very often! I remember my family making a big deal when I turned 10…”Wow, Tracey, you’re in the double-digits now!” Alex (the girl I used to babysit) made a big deal when I turned 20…”Tracey, you are so OLD now!” Yeah, she wrote that in my card. Isn’t that sweet!!! Sure is fun teasing her now that she’s in her 20s. So, hey, why NOT make a big deal that I’m turning 30, right? It’s FUN!

However, my dear blog fans (yeah, cuz there are sooo many of you!), I must report that I will NOT be on the blog when I turn 30. Unless, of course, by the grace of GOD there is an internet connection in some house in Nags Head. Yup, I’m headed to Nags Head on Saturday! My sweet friend Erin invited us to join her family for the week at the cottages they rent every year. HOW FREAKIN COOL IS THAT?!?!?!? Yeah, she rocks! So, it’s a bit last minute, but we are planning to pack up on Saturday for the week. Chris doesn’t get to come for much, but I’ll be there with the kids all week, which is so cool. It’s been since we lived in Florida that I took Gabe to the beach for the day, and I don’t think Emily has ever been. I guess I’m usually such a pool girl. But MAN I miss the beach! I grew up at one, so I was just USED to it. Can’t wait to share that w/ the kids, then play games all night w/ Erin’s family. However, when we were talking tonight on the phone, we realized that we very well might not have any internet connection…YIKES! So, if you don’t hear from me on Monday, it doesn’t mean that my 30s sucked me up into a black hole. It just means that our cottage isn’t technologically advanced yet.

And for those who were dying to see the color of the kitchen, here it is, Wood Lily in all it’s glory (and not in my hair):

Told you that you couldn’t tell. Wood Lily is all the way in the back on that bit of wall that you see. But if you look closely at the outlet in the background…imagine that the walls used to be the same color as that and the trim. Now, there is finally contrast. Hallelujah. The kitchen is still a wreck, which is why this is the best picture you’re gonna get right now. And I still have to go buy fabric and sew curtains. And paint the trim. But I have to get the patio door installed first. So, in other words, it could be a while before you see a picture of the entire kitchen in all of it’s glory.

So, the countdown continues…
6 days, 8 hours, 16 minutes…

This:

is…
a. Gray hairs. I don’t turn 30 for another 9 days, but it’s already having a major toll on my head.
b. New highlights.
c. Wood Lily.

Yet again, c is the correct answer. What is Wood Lily, you ask? That is the new color of my kitchen. Kind of a creamy yellow color. If I didn’t tell you that I painted it, you’d probably never know. But I do. My kitchen is no longer that dry, scratchy, yucky, same-color-as-the-trim builder’s white paint. It is now Wood Lily, washable, waterproof, I-killed-a-bug-on-it-and-was-able-to-instantly-wash-the-guts-away durable. Yes, no longer will you find old bug guts on my kitchen walls b/c the paint was so crappy they couldn’t be washed away. Go ahead. Think that is gross. It is. But if you’ve ever lived w/ builder’s flat paint, you totally understand where I’m coming from. And, no, you can’t see a picture of the kitchen yet b/c it is still totally destroyed. Still have to repaint the trim (that paint color is Swiss Coffee…yummmmmm). So the counters are still a wreck, everything is stacked up on the island, and it is in general disarray.

You know, this paint even makes my cabinets look better. Of course, now Chris and I hate the counters and floors even more than we already did. (cannot WAIT for granite countertops!) But alas, next to go is the patio door, being replaced by a sliding door. I can’t imagine for the life of me why a 5-year- old french door is already completely shot. Other than it sux. But b/c we aren’t the original owners of the house, it is no longer under warranty. Which is total bull sh*t, but whatever. My walls are Wood Lily, so you can’t ruin my day.

So I had this cool header over here, which I loved. Then I figured it was about time to update the old resume header. Wanted something cool. So I used some of the brushes that I made and the picture that my sweet son took (he’s becoming a better photographer than I am!) Go check it out!

My Resume

First and foremost, I should note, I am NOT 30…yet. I still have 15 more days. But leave it to Monica to rub it in for me:

It really was a wonderful party. TONS of food, fun, people…love having everyone here! I got some great gifts (that’s another post…I’ve already gotten lots of giggles over one of them). One of the coolest things, though, is that I FINALLY got a picture of Erin, Traci, and I together - the Barnes and Noble gang. Love these girls! (please note, Erin and Traci were totally squatting down so that I wouldn’t look so darned short next to them. Now that is friendship).

Of course, Nic, Traci’s husband, who was taking the pictures, thought we’d look more flattering if he got up on the bridge and took pictures of us from above. (um, trying to tell us something, Nic?)

So, anywho, here are some more pics from the party…

My mama. Another pic of her that I totally love (please note the name tags, also from Monica!):

The kiddie pool. Every adult party should have one of these!

My sweet girl:

My bro-in-law, Eddie, cuddling w/ his favorite part of my family, Zuzu:

A pic of Gabe during the only 10 minute interval that he was detached from the pool:

Wayne, Mo’s hubby, enjoying the hammock:

My girl, Mo (I am sooooo gonna get you back for those name tags and the Oil of Old Age! Your time is coming, my friend!)

And, last but not least, my candle-blowing-out-buddy and me. LOVE this picture.

Here’s to 15 more days of my 20s!!!!!