gettin' back in shape...

it's been a long time comin' but i'm finally gettin' back on the bandwagon and losing all the weight i've put on in school. Anna and i have started weight watchers and have been doing great, i'm down 13.5 lbs and anna is down 8.5. It's felt really good finally sticking with something and seeing effects pay off.

As i've been getting back into shape, my old neck injury was flarin' up. I was able to get it checked out down in Seattle and the doc gave me a clean bill of health. The MRI showed that my neck is healthy structurally. given that new info, i started doing jiu jitsu again in Seattle at the Gracie Barra school and man it was really fun. It feels great to mix it up a little bit, even though i'm gettin' whooped up on. I think the combination of eating better, working out at the gym, and jiu jitsu, should help me get back into healthy form once again.

thats all for now, time to go hang with my lovely wife.

Some better fish pics:)

big fish, sunny skies, and a good new friend

Eric on our way home after an 11 hour day of fishing...

My Fish!

Just before it was turned into filets:)

As you can see it was a good day on Saturday. Eric took me out for my first day salmon fishing in the rivers in the NW and holy cow did we pick a good one! The morning started off a bit frustrating, the exits i was supposed to take to get to Eric's house were blocked for construction which got me a there a little late. We got on the road and headed out to the first spot, a cool little place in Monroe, under the bridge highway 2 runs over. After watching some brilliant other fisherman run his $20,000 aluminum boat across across 30 feet of rocks in about 4 inches of water, we decided to change spots to a smaller creek Eric new about. Half an hour later we were wading through the Wallace river on a beautiful foggy morning watching the sunrise. After watching the guy next to us reel in a rather large silver, we decided to head off up river to find another spot. As we walked down off the main path, I could tell it would be a good day in our new "fishin' hole" that we happened upon. There was a large tree laying along the edge of the river and right as i walked down i could see the silhouette of a salmon tail beckoning me...

we waded out into the water and cast away... and as i was cursing the horrid hole in the borrowed waders i was in, causing my right leg to be numb for 90% of the day, Eric landed a fish. as i was smiling like a 5 year old in a theme park at watching him start to real it in he yells "Matt, get over here!" and hands me the rod. pretty cool i'd say. I got it about halfway in and tightened the drag due to my impatience and then, snap, he was gone. I've only ever fought a fish in a lake or out in puget sound, this river thing was new for me. Even though i didn't get it in, it was enough to make me want to stay. We kept casting and found this perfect little pocket that a school of silvers had settled into and after about an hour they were jumping out of the water just mocking us. I have to say that we got the best of em though. By the end of the day, i had landed the biggest fish i'd ever caught, had several on the line that got off, Eric brought 3 in and let two go, and later on, Eric's dad showed up and caught the grandady of the bunch.

All in all it was a great day. I have to say that i might be seeing a little more fishing in my near future. Even if there weren't a stack of frozen salmon in my freezer right now, the day would have been a success in my book. Good time with new friends, sunshine, jumping fish, and an answer to prayer in that i've met a pretty cool guy at work that makes the day a lot more fun. Not to mention that it feels really good to meet some new people in our new town.

thats all for now, it's bed time. Another long week at the big B lies waiting....

Life on the Wet-side

Well, I know I haven't been continuing to write as I had hoped to upon starting this blog, but it just never felt quite right. And as I'm sitting here waiting for a CD to burn, I figured I might as well give the world wide webz a piece of my fantastical mind.

Anna and I have settled in here in our comfy home in Mukilteo. I'm so thankful to be able to come home to a warm house, candles burning and a wife to welcome me in with a hug and smile. Meanwhile, Gromit jumping around like the crazy little dog that he is. While things weren't what I had initially expected, our new move has turned out to be a wonderful thing. It feels good to spend quality time with my wife. To enjoy time together like best friends should - thats what it's all about right?

So I'm getting up at 5:00 tomorrow to go fishing... on my day off. I'm looking forward to it. After I saw on several occasions the fisherman down on the beach, in their waders, just enjoying the view and hoping for a bite, I knew that it was something I might enjoy. Eric, a fellow new-hire at Boeing, invited me to come along. I bought a pair of those cool wooly half-fingered gloves with the pull over mitten and my fishing license...I think I'm ready to catch some fish:)

It's bed time for now... hopefully there will be a picture of a large salmon here tomorrow:)

me.... blogging...

well hello all you BLOGGERS... i've given in. Mainly because i need something to do at my incredibly EXCITING job (more to come on that i'm sure). For now, its off to finish the resume (hence the disgust for my current employment).

I SAID GOOD DAY!