Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Chapter 4: Colorado


I took a year off between undergrad and grad school to study in Beijing, travel Nepal and India, and do a lab visit in Zurich.  Before I left, Matt and I had decided to move to Boulder, CO together in the summer of 2009.  So we jammed all our stuff in a 12 ft. trailer and drove our life out to Colorado.  Matt had started work a few weeks earlier in Longmont.  We already had a good friend living in Boulder, with whom we had family dinner every week until he moved away.  


Things are pretty good here.  Restaurants are great.  People are fun and outdoorsy.  Boulder is small but big enough.  We try to get outside exploring with relative frequency.  We ran our first marathon together in fall 2009.  I got hooked on road cycling, which is a perfect sport for Boulder.  So many hills to climb.  Both of us started tele-skiing full time for more of a challenge, and we discovered the joys of Vail on a powder day.  

Matt went full-time 7 months ago in a small mobile software development company he helped found and now works from our 700 sq-ft apartment.  Grad school has its ups and downs, but is generally good.  


 Yay Colorado!



Saturday, July 14, 2012

Wedding Photos

I've asked one of my friends and teammates, Jesse (Rufio) to do the photography at our wedding.  This will be his first wedding, but he a really talented artist and an awesome guy.  Here's his website:  http://www.jesseryankuroiwa.com  He's also half-asian, but I'm not excited about asian people or halfsies.

Tuesday, July 3, 2012

Chapter 3: College Years

I started college at the University of Minnesota a year after Matt.  We both lived in Middlebrook Hall on the west campus.  My random roommate, Jamie, ended up being super awesome, and we lived with her years 3 and 4 too.  During those years, Ali started playing frisbee and got excited about microbiology and technical maps, Matt learned about business and engaged in tech projects, and both of us explored, grew, and learned.  Four years later, I left with a bachelors and Matt with a masters.

Twice-a-year ski trips to Colorado with friends and family were a highlight.



In the summer of 2006, Matt, Jamie, and I spent a month travelling around Europe.




In my senior year, I applied to graduate schools in Boulder, Seattle, and the Bay Area (all places with job prospects for Matt and skiing nearby).  I settled on CU in Boulder, and we decided to move out together.  But first, I deferred admission for a year and went to China.


Sunday, July 1, 2012

Guestbook Quilt


Quilting seems really awesome to me.  Not that I know how to use a sewing machine, or have any experience with textiles.  But I really like patterned fabrics and the thought of arranging them in a mathematically-organized manner.  So I think that instead of a guestbook at the reception, we'll do a wedding quilt.  I really like this one from Cute and Delicious.  (And she had her wedding in a natural history museum!)



Reception Flowers


Matt's mom and grandma have kindly agreed to help with flower arrangements at the reception.  We got the visit the garden when we were home in MN in May and saw the beds where the flowers were planted.  Betty Jo sent us a picture of an example arrangement last week.  I like glass jars.