Dear family and friends,
The biggest news is that Matt has completed three semesters of school this year, two at Durham Technical Community College, and one at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. We found out Matt was accepted to the part-time program at UNC at 4pm the day before we left on a 2 week vacation in August, to return the day before classes started. We managed to get through two English classes, two history classes, two German classes at DTCC, and the last German class ever and public policy class at UNC for Matt's major of "Peace, War, and Defense." It's "we" because Elin read many an assignment, though Matt did all the hard work. The work became significantly tougher at UNC, which prompted Matt to undergo testing for his dyslexia. He's now eligible for disability services on campus due to this learning disability, which should make his experience much less stressful thanks to some facilitative changes centered around writing. Matt received all A's and B's in his classes.
Matt made some great contacts in the automotive department while at Durham Tech and has been hired on as part-time faculty there. He's only taught one "what makes it tick" type class so far, but is slated to start teaching two classes in January at a federal prison in nearby Butner, NC. Matt will be the lead instructor for a pilot program that guarantees a job those who finish. He's very glad he's no longer working for GM, and enjoys the teaching aspect of his trade. Lots of friends have used his expertise to save a few bucks on the easy fixes, usually in exchange for beer or dinner.
Matt also continues his dabbling in the rock business, Bolder Notions, making all types of stone creations including jewelry. He is president of the Tarheel Gem and Mineral Club, and is even thinking about minoring in geology. Lucky for Matt one of the club members is in charge of tutoring at UNC; it is so wonderful to have friends. He has attended a few craft fairs, and continues to call on local bead shops for custom work. Elin also stays busy peddling PartyLite candles far and wide. She's making great strides to clean out the candle closets this holiday season. If you need any candles, holders, or spa products, check out her PartyLite website. http://www.partylite.biz/elin
Elin continues her work at the EPA, and is getting more involved with numerous research projects. These days she is developing methods to analyze the enantiomers of pyrethroid pesticides so that we can determine which ones humans are exposed to. That's the nickel version... you'll have to call to make sense of all that! She spent many weeks traveling this year for work, including a three week stint in Athens, GA at a sister lab, a two week residency in Shepherdstown, WV for a leadership class, one week in both San Diego and Milwaukee for scientific conferences. While draining, these were all great learning experiences, both work and travel-wise! Thankfully Matt and Eddie did not starve without her.
When she's actually at work (a rare occasion if you believe Matt), Elin is very involved with one of the EPA's rock bands called Alexander Drive. She is the "disorganizer" of the group, because organizing musicians is a little like herding cats. She is happy singing backup and harmony most of the time, but has also ventured into rewriting lyrics for the environmentally themed message. Unfortunately we haven't recorded anything worth hearing yet, otherwise you'd all be getting CDs as gifts. Matt has attended many of our performances and is the band's unofficial photographer and groupie.
Eddie, our Corgi, is still our only child and seems happy to keep it that way. He loves chasing squeaky balls, digging in the yard with Matt, chewing on sticks, and sneaking onto the bed. He hates bath time, but tolerates it with minimal production. He will NOT let us cut his toenails, so the vet gets to deal with the mean dog that shows up for nail clipping. He's also become quite attuned to the word dinner, and will always try to convince you that he has not been fed.
In family news, we got two new nephews this year, one for each of us. Melissa and Shaun brought Ethan Shaun Ulrich into the world December 28, 2006. Heidi and Rob brought Bryson Robert Humphries into the world on October 17, 2007. Luke and Jamie Ulrich are also expecting an addition to their family as well. Matt and Elin are happy having only a canine child, but think the nieces and nephews are great. Grandma Steussloff has moved from Colorado to Ohio, and is happy keeping Uncle Whitey (Grandpa Steussloff's youngest brother) company. Elin's cousin Aaron married Tiffany in August. This year we had visits from Elin's dad and stepmom in April, and Shaun, Melissa, and Ethan for Thanksgiving. We visited family and friends in Colorado in February and in the Midwest in August. We were able to take our second free tour of Bridal Cave this year, a month before our three year anniversary. Someone on the tour wondered aloud about how long the weddings take, to which Elin replied "Seven minutes... at least ours did"!
Matt and Elin still love going to see the Carolina Rollergirls in action. We stopped in Columbus, OH for the WFTDA Eastern Regional Tournament at the end of the August vacation where CRG took home third place and a spot at the National Tournament. One of these days Elin will finish editing pictures from roller derby events and get them all posted. It didn?t help that two computers bit the dust this year, but nary a pixel was lost. Speaking of pictures, if you haven't been lately, check out the albums posted this year to see what else we've been up to! http://www.oocities.org/ulrichem
Love,
Matt, Elin, and Eddie