Matt & Amber

DIY on the Home Front

2012-02-07T14:03:00.000-08:00

So we bought a new house and as long promised here are some pictures.

We have spent a lot of time cleaning, painting, cleaning, and adding base board to the bedrooms.

The first big update we embarked on were the three bedrooms. With a lot of help from family and friends we were able to get the rooms painted.

Next Matt and JP mastered the baseboard with A LOT of help from Guy!

Here is the almost finished product. We debated leaving the tile floor in one. I thought it could be Matt's P90x room. But I have to say it is just too ugly. The next pictures to come will hopefully include carpet!

PROGRESS!

30 Weeks

2012-01-16T12:03:00.000-08:00

Wow I'm already at 30 weeks. Yikes! That means there is only 10ish to go. This morning Matt and I stayed in bed until almost 8:00 am (which is super late for us since Matt is normally out of bed before 6). We just sort of stayed in bed lazily wondering how our life will change in the next few months.

New House

2012-01-03T14:46:00.001-08:00

We moved into our new house last week! It was very exciting. There are so many things I love about the new house. One of my favorite things is the park that is just one house away. I think Jocelyn took about 10 trips to the park in two days. So great.

A thing I'm not so thrilled about is the grease. Yes grease. We didn't realize we had purchased so much grease with the house. Matt and I were cleaning and we noticed AMAZING amounts of grease EVERYWHERE. We asked the neighbors and found out that the family who use to live there owned a Mexican food catering business. Unfortunately there was no vent above the stove so there is literally grease everywhere. This is Matt scraping grease of the top of the cabinet. I have to say I'm not too thrilled to eat anything fried.

Overall we are very excited to have friends and family over for many dinners to come.

NEW HOUSE!

2011-12-23T12:58:00.001-08:00

We officially own a house in Goleta! Our house closed on Tuesday. We are very excited to move in. Pictures of the fixer to come soon.

Overwhelmed but THANKFUL

2011-11-17T10:30:00.000-08:00

Life seems incredibly overwhelming at the moment. I have all of these major life changes and I am having a hard time even taking a breath. EHHH. We are moving this weekend. We are moving out of our wonderful downtown loft. I have ABSOLUTELY LOVED our Loft. It has been an amazing home for us during our first 4 years of marriage. I have to say I’m very sad to be leaving. I will miss the short walk to the Farmer’s Market and Yogurt Land. I will also miss my amazing run route along the beach. How many people can say that a whale has swam within a mile of their house. Pretty cool.
Also overwhelming is the whole house buying process. Wow papers, papers, papers! I’m so thankful that we are blessed to be able to somehow afford to buy a house in this beautiful city of Santa Barbara (well actually Goleta). BUT it is an overwhelming process. I feel like I’m spending Monopoly money with all the zeros behind the numbers. It’s a bit overwhelming to buy a fixer and think of all the work that goes into it. However I have felt sooooo loved by our friends, particularly JP & Garth who have already brainstormed all of the “fun” projects we can do in the years ahead! I’m so excited to know we are not tackling this project alone.
Also overwhelming is Matt’s health. I know he looks like an amazingly healthy young man. And overall he is. But late summer/fall we had a bit of a panic. Matt found out he had a rare form of skin cancer. To aggressively treat it he had 2 surgeries where around 15+ square inches of skin was removed from his chest. He now has a 10 inch scar from his shoulder to his heart. He recently had another biopsy that came back cancer free. So overall things seem good. I have to say it surprised both of us a bit more than we realized. We both feel young and in great health. Now I see a lot more worry on my husbands face when he gets a cold, sees a mole, or feels a swollen throat.
Finally, the thing that has been least overwhelming as of yet, but might become a lot more overwhelming in the weeks to come is this baby! I’m sometimes shocked when I get the update in my email noting how far along I am. 21 Weeks already! How can that be!? I feel like I just found out I’m pregnant. Now a baby is coming... soon! Wow. How Great! Sometimes I feel I just have to take some deep breaths and tell myself to relax. I really have SO much to be thankful for.
I decided to look up the definition for the word overwhelmed.

overwhelmed past participle, past tense of o·ver·whelm (Verb)
1. Bury or drown beneath a huge mass.
2. Defeat completely.

SERIOUSLY!!! After reading this definition, I have to confess I’m not overwhelmed by anything... well anything but thankfulness. I really don’t feel defeated, I actually feel quite blessed. A house, good health, a good job, a wonderful family, fabulous friends, a precious baby on the way, wow so much. So I guess this title of this blog is wrong it should be:
OVERWHELMED BY THANKFULNESS.

Wipe Out

2011-11-02T13:14:00.000-07:00

Three years ago when I was procrastinating so my friend Bethany and I decided to apply to be a contestant on Wipe Out. Last night I finally got the casting call. FINALLY my Wipe Out dream came true! I have to say I was SUPER excited and thought OMG I could be on Wipe Out. Then I remembered oh yeah a pregnant lady probably shouldn't go on Wipe Out. So I called them back and asked if they would consider me next year. Then I thought I should have them call Bethany. So they did!!! Now she is debating on wether or not to go on the show. Unfortunately it is bad timing for both of us. Bethany is training for the Olympic Trials. So now she has to decide wether to risk Wipe Out with the high potential for injury. EHHH if only they would have called last year!!!

Pregnant

2011-10-13T10:39:00.001-07:00

Matt and I are Pregnant and SOOOO thrilled. I found out the same day I successfully defended my dissertation. Since then whenever someone says "congratulations" mostly for finishing my PhD I give them a somewhat blank confused "how did you know" stare. Are they congratulating me on being pregnant. Am I already showing. EK.

Here is a recap from when we found out.

7/26/11
So right after I finished my dissertation I went home to take a pregnancy test. And guess what!!!! Two strips means pregnant!!! Matt was shocked! After an overwhelmed shock there was a bit of excitement. Then some more WHAT HAVE WE DONE and a bit more overwhelmed. The funny thing is we were planning on celebrating my dissertation so we were meeting friends at the Brewhouse for drink. Eeeek. Amy came over and I showed her the test. She was thrilled, and that is all we talked about until Allie and Scott came over (we decided not to tell everyone until I tell my family). Which means I have to keep a secret. I might possibly be the absolute WORST at keeping secrets. First thing I say to Allie “I’m so excited about the Baby shower tomorrow.” Allie’s response, “what baby.” Amber “I mean bridal, bridal shower, wedding shower no baby.” At this point I look at Amy who is totally avoiding all eye contact to hold in her laughter.
Since then I have done an okay job not telling.

Jocelyn turns 2

2011-01-24T08:41:00.000-08:00

So Jocelyn thinks that when you say "smile", she should make this face. Clearly it looks just like a smile.

Go-Go Gadget Arm

2010-12-17T15:18:00.000-08:00

These are some of Matt's favorite pictures to take!

Procrastination Method #24

2010-11-24T08:19:00.000-08:00

This is actually procrastination 24 but maybe I should call it 24, 25, & 26.

http://www.dearblankpleaseblank.com/

Hilarious!

The Journey of the Dissertation

2010-11-10T09:59:00.000-08:00

Today I embark on the Journey of the Dissertation. I know your thinking haven't you already embarked? Well yes and no. Yesterday I solidified with my wonderful advisor what I am going to do for my dissertation, okay loosely solidified :) as I'm sure there will be some changes. I have to say that I am quite intimidated of the task. This morning I have been trying to get started but have struggled. So I asked google. Here are a few of my favorite tips I found
1. Articulate your dissertation idea into 5 sentences or less. (Yeah right! it's suppose to be a 200 page document. I guess I will have to be like Paul with an amazing amount of run on sentences.)
2. Set up social contingencies/ rewards for accomplishing a day's writing and chart your progress (I like this one).
3. Keep a certain distance from writing (Success for this one.)
4. Embrace the difficult task (this seems like a forced hug.)
And my personal favorite:
5. Moderate your emotions in all walks of life, by avoiding intense rushing, prolonged emotional escalation (I'm not sure what this means if someone has an idea let me know. I sure hope it isn't suggesting that I avoid intimacy with my husband it is our anniversary today.)

Completion not Competition

2010-11-07T07:12:00.000-08:00

Those of you who know me well know that I am a tad bit competitive. In my soccer days this was totally okay. It is fine to pull someones shirt to get ahead on the soccer field. As a "semi-adult" it is a lot less okay. My competitiveness sometimes comes out in board games specifically Settlers of Catan and Chess. Matt and I actually no longer play chess because I get so into it that I actually get angry at him (I know hard to believe). Well I have to say I have somewhat over come my extreme competitiveness and was able to compete my first half marathon. Confession: I did sprint at the finish and I am up at 7 am checking my time. BUT I didn't push anyone on the course, pull any shirts, or push myself so hard that it wasn't any fun. I'd say this is progress. My self talk of "completion not competition, completion not competition," is very helpful.

Procrastination not so much!

2010-10-02T13:23:00.001-07:00

Notice I haven't posted a Procrastination Method in some time. Well, that is because I actually made SUBSTANTIAL progress!!! This past week I defended my comps. I know this doesn't mean much to anyone not in graduate school. So basically I sat in front of three professors while they asked me a bunch of questions about stuff that seems really nerdy. I fumbled through answering them and tried to sound as smart as possible. Then they said I passed, and that was great news. So now all I have to do is write a dissertation and then my 21 years of schooling will come to an end.

I now have plenty more procrastination to do. First on my list is to watch some awesome football then post some pictures from the Triathlon Lisa and I did last weekend, and make some cupcakes for Bs birthday!

Week 1 Half Marathon Training

2010-09-10T14:12:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow I will attempt a 6 mile run.

Words of Wisdom

2010-09-10T13:53:00.000-07:00

Matt turned 32!

2010-09-10T13:52:00.000-07:00

Procrastination Method #24

2010-08-29T13:50:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted in a really long time. This is because my comps are due WEDNESDAY!!! Don't worry! I'm almost done. Comps down and just a dissertation to go. BLAH!

Procrastination Method # 23

2010-08-13T10:27:00.000-07:00

HAPPY 60th Birthday to my mom!!!!
We planned a surprise party for my mom. Clearly you can see (pictures on the left) she was shocked. It was great!

Procrastination Method #22

2010-07-07T08:08:00.000-07:00

Central Park is HUGE!
This morning I decided to go for a run and explore NYC Central Park. There is a lake in the park! There are also 30 some odd tennis courts, a baseball field, a swimming pool, numerous ponds, a zoo, and beautiful gardens! Obviously to hold all of this it must be large. So after my 2 hour run/walk I now have 3 blisters and will most likely be sweating the rest of the day since it is about 100 degrees this morning. Nothing like procrastination in central park.

Not really procrastination but vacation.

2010-07-03T11:11:00.000-07:00

We have had three AWESOME days of vacation.
Here are some really fun moments.
1. Matt asked the Secret Service man how many push ups he could do and he asked Matt if he wanted to join the Secret Service.
2. When I saw a firefly for the first time EVER. They really do glow.
3. When we watched the sunset on The Lincoln Memorial. Which could possibly be the most beautiful place ever.
4. We ate at a restaurant called The Bald Man's Chocolate. Matt felt right at home. And then we ran into someone from Santa Barbara.
5. We saw President Obama's Motorcade, to bad I thought I was video taping but instead I forgot to push record.

Procrastination Method # 21

2010-06-24T08:52:00.000-07:00

So the US played Algeria. Matt and I went to the Arlington to watch. It was one of the most intense soccer games I have EVER watched. The US scored in the 91st minute (yeah there are only 90 minutes in a game but sometimes there is extra time.) For 90 minutes we watched in pure stress for them to finally score at the last possible minute!!! It was pure happiness. Matt actually jumped up and down so much he thinks he hurt his hip. Procrastination Method #21 US vs. Algeria. Planning ahead: Procrastination #22 US vs Ghana!

Procrastination Method # 20

2010-06-22T11:08:00.000-07:00

This is my brain!!!! You might ask, "how did you get a picture of your brain?" Well you see I got this awesome new camera and if you put it real close to your eye... Just Kidding! I am a participant in someones research study and they gave me this CD with pictures of my brain. I am a bit of skeptic. This could be another persons brain, how would I know. It is rather large and smart looking though, so it must be mine. Procrastination Method #20 getting an MRI.

Procrastination Method #19

2010-06-13T10:13:00.001-07:00

The President did not submit a bracket :( but 28 wonderful people did. Below are a list of the picks. As World Cup goes on I will update the scores. We have 11 for Brazil, 7 for Argentina, 7 for Spain, 2 for the Netherlands, 1 for Germany, 1 for England, 1 for Switzerland, and 1 for USA!

Procrastination Method #18

2010-06-04T09:27:00.000-07:00

I asked the head honcho to join my World Cup bracket. Here is my message:
Dear Mr. President,
I really think you should create a World Cup bracket just like you created a March Madness bracket. World Cup is SUPER exciting and could have some Foreign policy implications (North Korea and South Korea are both in the Tournament).
If you would like to join my bracket that would be great.
I'll let you know if he joins. I kind of think he is a bit busy (oil spill, economic crisis, Gaza).

Procrastination Method #17

2010-05-25T11:31:00.000-07:00

I created a World Cup Bracket because I am sooooo excited that World Cup 2010 is finally here. Unfortunately I can't figure out how to upload an Excel sheet to my blog. So If you would like to play email me and I'll send it to you.

Procrastination Method #16

2010-05-20T12:01:00.001-07:00

Matt and I are really fortunate to have GREAT insurance. We have had insurance for 2 and a half years now. So far we have had to file two claims. The kitchen flood which pretty much destroyed our entire house (since we live in a studio) and the Matrix. Most people are kind of annoyed when paying their insurance because they never know if they will use it. Procrastination Method #16 calculating how many monthly payments it will take for us to pay back our insurance company for the amount of claims we have had in just 2 and a half years. If my numbers are correct it will take 18 years and 8 months. Remind me of this if I ever complain!

Procrastination Method #16

2010-05-20T10:33:00.000-07:00

I have had better days. In a stroke of sheer genius I locked my keys in my car. I decided to go into an observation at an elementary and not take my backpack. Clearly a bad idea when you just put your keys in your backpack. So I took a leisurely walk to UCSB. Unfortunately, my allergies are just about the worst I have had them, and even more unfortunately I decided to wear nicer shoes today. So no I am sitting in my office with a blister the size of a quarter and snot pouring out of my nose with all of my stuff for my school/work day locked in my car (including my keys). Fortunately my precious friend Bethany can take an early lunch and we can go and get Matt's keys to open up the car.

Procrastination Method #15

2010-05-11T15:31:00.000-07:00

You see I got in a car accident. I'm just fine, but the Matrix has seen better days. A man driving very fast hit me from behind on the freeway while I was stopped. I think my car is totaled. I'm no expert, but when the side of your car falls off and stays on the freeway it is kind of a good indication there might be some serious problems. So now I keep looking up things like: 1) How much is a 2006 Matrix worth, 2) How much does a Lexus or an Audi cost, HMMMM Highly unlikely we have that 3) How much does another Matrix cost. Procrastination Method #15 searching for a new car.

Procrastination Method #14

2010-04-29T09:18:00.000-07:00

Reef and Run. Matt and I went to the first Reef and Run for the summer. I sat out due to my recent foot injury. Matt and Amy had a blazing time of 35 minutes for 4 miles. The best moment came after the race. You see each week they have a raffle where you can win super great prizes. MATT was the winner! He won hair products!!! How perfect the only bald man there wins the hair products!!! The hair products seem like they will be a wonderful re-gift.

Procrastination Method #13

2010-04-22T12:12:00.000-07:00

UPDATE
So I sold way more than 1. It has been a CRAZY selling month. I sold three books for a total of $240!!!!

Unfortunately yesterday I failed to meet Arne Duncan. :(
But I did line dance in Nashville (for sure a great Procrastination Method).

Procrastination Method #12

2010-04-08T12:09:00.000-07:00

Selling books on Amazon. So professors often give away free books they no longer want. I have chosen to help recycle the books for them. By that I mean make money selling them on Amazon. Today I sold one for $105. After I mail it and Amazon takes their cut it leaves me with $84. Interesting thing is Matt and I have been praying about ways we can help serve our friends as they go on mission trips this summer. We have friends going to Guatemala and South Africa. I haven't sold a book in months and randomly I said "I know we don't have money to help support these friends, but if by chance we sell a book in the next two weeks I think that is where our money should go." Praise God for the weird ways in which he provides and helps me stay grounded in reality while writing.

Procrastination Method #11

2010-03-30T10:41:00.000-07:00

Plot a way to meet U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan at an upcoming conference I am going to. HMMMM I'll let you know how it goes.

Procrastination Method #10

2010-03-30T10:38:00.000-07:00

Camping somewhere near Ojai. SO fun except I froze my rear end off. It got down to 38 and then I decided to sleep in the car. Poor Matt had every piece of clothing he had on. He even wrapped a sweater around his head with just a breathing hole. It was cold. I don't really recommend going camping ill prepared.

Procrastination Method #9

2010-03-26T13:27:00.000-07:00

Clearly Amy needs to eat a piece of cake. She had to leave the Surprise party early and she missed out on the delicious (very high-calorie) cake.
Procrastination Method #9 Taking a Piece of Cake to Amy at Work.

Procrastination Method #8

2010-03-26T13:23:00.000-07:00

SHHH this one was the best. You see, it was my precious friend's birthday. We planned a surprise party for her. She is from Brazil and her husband told us one of her favorite things to eat is Hot Dogs and Mashed Potatoes. Very odd I know. So after a bit of cleaning and cooking we invited 15 of our friends to our humble loft and threw a terrific surprise party. She had no idea.
Procrastination Method #9 Making Mashed Potatoes and Hot Dogs.

Procrastination Method #7

2010-03-20T13:20:00.000-07:00

GIVE A DAY. Today I pulled weeds for 4 hours. I have to say it was not nearly as bad as it seems. I was with one of my best friends and really all we did was talk. The best thing about it was we gave our day and new we get a FREE Disney Day. Even better Matt spent his day mowing a field of weeds. He said it was like mowing cilantro. I am not sure what that means. Clearly we didn't plant a garden however it was still GREAT.
Procrastination Method #7 Pulling Weeds.

Procrastination Method #6

2010-03-16T13:17:00.000-07:00

Somehow I am suppose to grade papers finish my paper for an interviewing class and work on my comps and dissertation. Clearly I need a break. Procrastination Method #6 have lunch with a friend.

Procrastination Method #5

2010-03-12T13:14:00.000-08:00

My friend Kim has started her dissertation project. I have to confess I'm a bit jealous. It is so fascinating. I get to observe in classrooms. Today I went to a kindergarten classroom and they had a record player. I am not sure I have EVER seen a working record player (besides in old movies). Kim clearly needs my help. Procrastination Method #5 help a friend finish her dissertation.

Procrastination Method #4

2010-03-10T13:10:00.000-08:00

I'm trying to print with my new printer. It is only printing in yellow!!!!! Why not red or blue at least you can read those. Procrastination Method #4 fixing the printer.

Procrastination Method #3

2010-03-09T13:08:00.000-08:00

Free trip to Disneyland! Give a day get a day. Today instead of writing I signed up for Disney's give a day get a day. We will be planting a local community garden. Clearly I have the time for both planting a garden and going to Disneyland.

Procrastination Method #2

2010-03-07T13:06:00.000-08:00

People keep on telling me, "the only way to eat an elephant is one bite at a time." WHAT??? I don't want to eat an elephant I want to write a dissertation.
Procrastination Method #2 google search on how to eat an elephant.

Procrastination Method #1

2010-03-06T13:02:00.000-08:00

I am starting to get into the heart of my doctoral work (yes I am trying to get my Doctorate in case I forgot to tell you). So far it has been mostly easy. Now the dreaded writing has been the thorn in my side. I estimate that I have 220 pages of writing in the next little bit of my life. Writing has never been my strong point (talking yes). To keep life interesting I am going to write about all my methods of procrastination for writing (ironic huh).
So procrastination method #1 writing about procrastination!

Fish Story

2009-11-18T15:04:00.000-08:00

My mom caught a fish. She says it's 28 inches. Sounds a bit fishy!!!!

So Cute I had to share!

2009-11-02T08:36:00.000-08:00

Disneyland

2009-08-18T15:06:00.000-07:00

What a great day. For Brandon's birthday we went to Disneyland, well three of us went. Amy had a bit of food poisoning and had to stay home :( Even though I was on a "man date" it was still awesome. The best is represented by this picture. You see we went on Splash Mountain and got soaked! Brandon didn't want to walk around with wet socks. So obviously why not take them off and hold them so they dry. Great idea but seriously gross! So the next ride we went on was the Tower of Terror which I told them was oddly similar to the Haunted Mansion. They thought the Haunted Mansion was super lame so they weren't expecting much from the Tower of Terror. Really all they were thinking is they were going to ride around real slow in a little car. Little did they know...... Suddenly there was a major drop! Brandon and Matt screemed like little girls (which is very difficult for Matt to do with his deep voice). Super funny except I thought I was going to lose my hat. The funniest was yet to come. Remember that sock. Well Brandon had decided to let it dry on the armrest of the seat. Great idea again but seriously gross. This time even more gross because as the ride dropped the sock flew up in the air off the seat. Now see the girl with the peace sign. Well some how as Brandon is looking for his wet sock we hear her say, "what is this wet thing on my neck?"

26!!!!

2009-08-01T10:14:00.000-07:00

What happened!?!? I am now 26. Where has all the time gone? EH 26 is great, although I still feel like I'm 17. The best part of being 26 is a great husband, great friends, great family, and Allie gave me a gift card that I can spend at Yogurt land. She truly knows the way to my heart!

Mellow Morning!

2009-05-22T08:14:00.001-07:00

Seriously this morning was just nothing like my normal Friday mornings. I was with out the usual morning laughter to get me going. You see I usually start the morning with a little Love and Joy from Trish, Sue, and Lori. Then a visit by our good friend Lance. Today I just ran on the treadmill and did the squat X press with out Tony checking my form. It's just not the same.

Hi Mommy!

2009-03-30T09:04:00.000-07:00

I'm having a great morning with Aunt Amber and Uncle Matt!

Jocelyn

2009-03-29T20:40:00.001-07:00

View Project at Shutterfly

All she does is SLEEP!

2009-03-29T20:32:00.000-07:00

Our President's Day Visit!

2009-02-13T19:59:00.001-08:00

How cute!!!

More Jocelyn

2009-01-23T20:51:00.000-08:00

BABY Jocelyn!!!!

2009-01-23T20:07:00.000-08:00

Baby Jocelyn was born today at 12:18 pm. She weighs 7 pounds 4 ounces and is 19.5 inches long.
Jen called last night at about 7 to let us know that something was going on. We all drove down in the late hours. Matt and I didn't get there until 1 am. Seriously, I think that is the latest we have stayed up since college. Baby Jocelyn was content inside her mommy's belly and did not want to budge. Jen was incredible, she probably got about 2 hours of sleep while all of us waited anxiously. She can sleep anywhere. Shaun was even able to get sleep which was a great relief. I have to say it was amazing to see little Jocelyn come out and start wailing. She is just precious!!!!

The BABY

2009-01-16T15:21:00.000-08:00

Jen is going to have her baby soon, well maybe a few weeks. I really hope it is today. You see I have a three day weekend, and it would be great if the baby came so we could go hang out with it this weekend.
I'll post pictures as soon as possible.
EXCITING!!!

The New Year

2009-01-04T16:03:00.000-08:00

Our New Year started off with the wonderful marriage of two precious friends now know as Mr. and Mrs. Steets. The wedding was on a spectacular Santa Barbara day with a sunset that could not have been more picturesque. Matt and I had the privlidge of standing behind our friends as they made their vows. We are thrilled to share more fun times with are newly married friends.

House #6

2008-12-25T14:12:00.000-08:00

House #5

2008-12-25T14:11:00.001-08:00

House #4

2008-12-25T14:10:00.001-08:00

House #3

2008-12-25T14:09:00.001-08:00

House #2

2008-12-25T14:08:00.001-08:00

House #1

2008-12-25T14:07:00.001-08:00

Christmas Gingerbread House

2008-12-24T19:54:00.000-08:00

We decided to have a bit of a competition this Christmas (of course we would). Please vote for your favorite Gingerbread HOUSE.

Grad School

2008-10-16T10:54:00.000-07:00

Graduate School has officially become hard. Last year I think I was all excited about getting married, that I didn't even realize that it was hard. If your wondering "hmmm I wonder what Amber is doing?" just know she is most likely reading. THATS ABOUT ALL I DO!!!!

BACK HOME!!!

2008-06-10T13:15:00.001-07:00

Today is a wonderful day! Well it cloudy and I spent half of the morning completing a final. BUT I am done, and we get to sleep in our own bed for the first night in over 7 weeks.

Still Out of the House

2008-05-25T21:21:00.000-07:00

Still out of the house! We are so grateful for the Shinn family for letting us stay. We have had such a wonderful weekend hanging out with them.

Going RED

2008-05-16T08:14:00.000-07:00

Our loft is still a disaster area. It's amazing, one whole month out of the loft all because of a leaky refrigerator. CRAZY! In redoing stuff in our house we have decided to try to go green. In our attempts to go green we were going to get bamboo flooring put into our loft. Unfortunately the instillation is way more then we can afford for this particular time in life. Even more unfortunate we had already purchased the 32 boxes of bamboo flooring from Costco. AND even more unfortunate now we have to take all 32 boxes that weigh 50lbs. back to Costco! Poor Matt! I can barely lift one; I'm not the athlete I use to be. So I guess we are bit anti-green at the moment, I guess that would make us red.

The Flood

2008-04-26T21:46:00.000-07:00

After a wonderful church retreat Matt and I drove back up to Santa Barbara in our good friend's mini cooper. We put the top down because it was such an amazing day to drive up highway 1. We commented on how we had NOTHING to do when we got home (a rare occasion). Upon arriving home we noticed a bit of a odd odor to our house. Then we noticed all of our rugs were soaked! Our neighbor later informed us that he had to turn the water off because water was coming into his house!! He noticed water coming out of our front door!!! Basically the refrigerator broke while we were gone and the water mus have been running for hours. First we were under the impression that the house wasn't all that bad. We actually put a house fan on it to try to start to dry things out. We called the insurance company the next day and they quickly made us feel a bit silly for trying to dry things out with our little house fan. Now after 5 days of industrial sized fans and dehumidifiers. The house is dry. They have removed flooring and about two feet of dry wall around the perimeter. Thankfully we have amazing friends that have been more than just hospitable. We are in good spirits knowing that we have insurance that will take care of it.

MARRIED

2007-08-22T14:10:00.000-07:00

THANKS for helping us celebrate!!!! Check out our wedding slideshow!

Engagement Slide Show

2007-08-21T21:20:00.000-07:00

Check out our engagement slideshow.

Invitation

2007-08-20T14:12:00.000-07:00

Save The Date

2007-08-19T12:07:00.000-07:00

Gift Registry

2007-08-19T10:37:00.000-07:00

Sears
www.saears.com

Bed Bath and Beyond

Directions

2007-08-18T16:28:00.000-07:00

Hotel Options

2007-08-18T04:23:00.000-07:00

Santa Barbara is a busy place, please make reservations at your earliest convenience. Here are some cost efficient options:

The West Beach Inn located across from the Santa Barbara Harbor. West Beach Inn is approximately 15 minutes from the ceremony and reception location. Rates range from
$184-$214. Phone: (805) 963-4277

The Best Western Carpinteria is about 10 miles outside of Santa Barbara. It is located approximately 15 minutes from the ceremony and reception. We have reserved a block of rooms at $115 for two nights and $149 for one night. Phone: (805) 684-0473

There are several other options including camping at Carpinteria State Beach. Please let us know if there is anything we can help you with.

We're Engaged

2007-08-18T04:00:00.000-07:00

Matt got down on one knee and popped the big question!!! YEAH! It was such a wonderful, joyous day. Apparently he had been scheming away for the past few months to plan this, however, to his surprise I decided to go to Tahoe with some friends four weeks before. With some help from Jen and Crystal I came back a day early to spend a day with Matt. Jen and Crystal knew the whole weekend and had a blast listening to me try and determine if he would wait until spring break or summer to ask. Basically I had no idea, NO IDEA!
So Matt and I decided to take lunch up to Knapps Castle, which is an old remnants of a stone building. It overlooks the San Ynez Valley, and the whole way up it overlooks Santa Barbara and the ocean. We had lunch sitting on the edge overlooking the valley, Matt only ate two bites (I should have know he was up to something he normally eats everything and two bites of mine.) He got up and said that he wanted to take a picture with me looking out over the valley. He got the camera out, or so I thought. The he was all "before I take the picture I have question I want to ask." So I turned around and he was on his knee and he started asking me. All I could say was "Really," with several giggles. After saying Really about seven times I got my voice back and was able to say yes.
It was wonderful! He did an amazing job surprising me, despite all my trying to pry it out of him. We spent the rest of the afternoon talking about how nervous he was and how oblivious I was. How he tried to plan it for this weekend three months ago, and I decided to go to Tahoe. In the end it all worked more then perfectly. I had a wonderful weekend with my girl friends who asked such great questions about Matt and what I love about him. Then to have the weekend end on such a great note was such a blessing.