Videos are fun too

For your viewing pleasure...we offer a sampling of random videos of our life from the recent past. If you'll recall...we made the vow to record more and more with our Flip Video cam. Nothing TOO amazing but very entertaining nevertheless.


My brother Jeffrey, bless his heart, loves him a dessert. This video was about a year ago. I just think it's funny how funny he is..."I think it'll be worth it!"


This is just a 5 minute clip of Manda and I chatting on the couch. We show off our joke telling abilities and just talk. This is just a great look into a humorous convo between the two of us. Manda is so freaking cute! and she looks amazing in that UTAH sweatshirt.


Manda, my lovely wife, has this amazing talent. IF you'll recall from the video above...she is going to perform this talent at her work talent show. Well, just look for yourself. And She IS the Wiz!


This is a short clip walking around Pier 39 in San Fran. We were on our way to Bubba Gump's. This vid is funny for me cuz of how exciting it can be to see a gift shop. And, if you notice at the very end of the video...Adi is rubbing her hands together out of PURE excitement!


Enjoying our time at Bubba Gump Shrimp. This video was spurred by the awesome frozen lemonade that came with a take home cup that lights up! PLUS...this vid features Kyle, Adi and Hayden and who wouldn't love that???


This is of my awesome nephew, Michael (Mr. Goo!) playing with Manda. I love this video because it's so funny but it also shows absolute happiness with the simplest thing. Gotta love that Goo!

Isn't It Interesting?

Isn't it interesting how different we are? How easily we can connect with someone and still be so unique? It's funny, really, how life works, how we get to that point where we feel like we finally understand. We finally know ourselves, and yet, somewhere in the process of getting there, we end up right back where we started - unknowing and uncertain of everything. It's interesting, that even in a life filled with achievements and progress, we can feel so insecure and unaccomplished. Life never waits for us to be ready, to get everything right the first time. It's interesting that some lessons are so easy to learn and others take so much time to accept. Change can make a fool out of each of us. We feel content, and then something humbles us, knocks us to the ground. Sometimes, for a while, the ground is all we see. But simply wondering if others have seen it too, doesn't change the ground to blue skies. We have to do that part ourselves. And often, by doing so, we can help others to understand. We call this life. Isn't it interesting?

What a Treat

Sooo, this past week Amanda and I spent some wonderful time in the Golden State of California. I, Matthew Sanchez, had never been to Cali (it's true) and this would be a trip for the books. We stayed in Oakland with Manda's (Woo Woo) bro Kyle, his wonderful wife Adi and their bundle of joy, Hayden. They were an amazing host family (I love how it makes it sound like we were in a foreign country) and I highly recommend staying with them if you are in that part of the country. They will make you hand-made meals and will wait on you hand and foot. Such generous people. ;) Kyle and I had a very funny experience on a visit to Bed Bath & Beyond when just the two of us went and bought a portable air mattress. Apparently by what we said and how we said it, people thought some incorrect things. But, that's neither here nor there.
Right when we got in, Kyle took us to the Golden State Warriors V. Dallas Mavericks game and had amazing seats. It was a lot of fun, even though it was quite weird not really rooting for either team. Golden State won and the crowd was happy. It was also interesting seeing my Warrior counterparts (interactive team) and how they did their thing. I have some good ideas for Jazz games now! OH, and I can't forget the splendid trip to In 'n Out burger before the game. Though the fast food chain is very good, (fresh onions mmmm) it is also very overrated. Gimmee Crown Burger anytime! Nevertheless, it was a fun experience.

We spent Saturday visiting San Francisco and had some fun experiences. The tops has to be this: We went to the Bubba Gump Shrimp Restaurant and I loved it! That place was great and the food was amazing! They even had Forrest Gump playing everywhere and anywhere they could fit a plasma TV. (Please watch this entire trailer, you WILL get emotional) Anyone that knows me, knows how much I love that movie. In fact, I think I love that movie more than anyone else. Anyway...while we were waiting for our food, our nice waiter decided to give us some trivia. He was a strapping young lad that looked confident in his questions. He asked about 15 random questions from the movie. Such as: how many Jenny's (boats) did Forrest have? Who was Forrest's first mate? What is Bubba's full name? all of which I answered correctly. Then, came to the moment of truth. He said..."ok last question. I have never had anybody get this right. When Forrest and Lt. Dan spent New Year's Eve together in NYC, what were the names of the 2 women they were with?" I smiled and couldn't hold it in...Confidently, I uttered..."Cunning Carla and Long Limbs Lanora." The waiter was stunned. He told me that I was awesome and wished he had something to give me. He left in shame. haha...not really but I stumped him and now can be considered THE Forrest Gump trivia expert. :)
That was fun

Manda and I went back to San Fran on Monday and spent the whole day there. We walked around for many hours but it was so fun...we didn't even notice the time go by. We saw cool shops and interesting people. We also saw Marcus Camby and Eric Gordon of the L.A. Clippers at NikeTown but they didn't look very happy so I didn't want to ask for a picture. We found streets with no tourists and it seemed like were discovering cool places by ourselves. Making memories is really what life is all about. We took many good pics and they are below in a nice slide show for your viewing pleasure...

The moral of this story: Have fun and try new things. When you can, go some place new. You won't be sorry!

I Will Never Understand

So, what's the deal with people smoking?? Whenever I see a person puffing away, I'm speechless. I am without speech and that does not happen very often. I can't help but stare at the culprit and try to figure out why they are doing it. IT'S SMOKE!!! It's not like these people are inhaling a beautiful pizza or some refreshing beverage. It's smoke...as in a deadly thing that nobody should come in contact with...SMOKE! Seriously...why would anybody want to smoke? To look cool...? They're addicted...? I don't buy it. I want to know. But maybe this is one of life's mysteries that nobody will fully understand.

...Always Thinkin'....

I'm a product of the 80's and sometimes, I miss it. I came across a random website the other day that spurred all sorts of fun memories for me... www.80stees.com
I have to restrain myself b/c I've already found 17-23 shirts that I want to buy! Here's one that I laugh at...!

Last week the Utah Flash, the Developmental team of the Utah Jazz, were cheated out of a game. Their best player was called for his 6th foul and was disqualified from the game. However, it was an error by the scorer's table because he should have only had 5 fouls! They went on to lose the game and then later protested to the league and the league is going to allow them to re-play the final 25 seconds of that game. Craziness. Anyway...enough of the boring mumbo jumbo...yesterday while I was at KFAN, we proposed the question...If you could go back and re-play any game, ever, at a certain point then what would it be?? When I heard this, I immediately had flashes of Michael Jordan stripping Karl Malone in game 6 of the 1998 Finals. The Jazz were leading by 1 with under a minute to play...and the Jazz had the ball! Malone got it down on the block, turned his head and Michael Jordan took the ball right out of his hands. Jordan then proceeded to walk up the court, with time winding down nailed a picture perfect jumper from the top of the key and beat the Jazz. Oh the sadness! If I could have any moment in sports history replayed...it would have to beat this.


Check out this link...It's Men's Health's 20 worst foods. Eating out is a fun time for all involved but I think it's wise to go in knowing what NOT to eat. It's crazy to think about how bad some of the things at restaurants are for us. Whatever you do, stay away from those cheese fries! They are the equivalent of 14 Krispy Kremes!

It does exist

I don't know what it is about public restrooms...they are just horrible. If I'm being honest, they're despicable! I try to stay away as much as possible. However, I found an exception to the rule. Just last week Manda Bear and I were at Rumbi at the Gateway(fabulous Hawaiian cuisine, I do recommend) and I felt so inclined to use the restroom.

*side note* I drink A LOT of water throughout the day.

Anyway...The restroom inside of this particular Rumbi was phenomenal! It smelled Oh-So-Good and not only were there palm trees on the walls, a very sweet candle burning but I was serenaded by the sweets sounds of the tropics...! Even though my visit was very brief I was so impressed, I decided to snap up a picture! Forgive my out-of-date camera phone for the poor quality.

I just felt like running...

**Preface: This post features pictures for the sole purpose of showing how exercise and diet can change a person's body...they just happen to be of me.**

...It is an ordinary Saturday night in the summer of 2004. A young man sits, anxiously yet patiently waiting. He has just popped in a DVD and opened the first of many carbonated beverages. "Where is it?" he thought. Though he's slow to anger he starts to get a tad perturbed. Just then he sees his new friend pull into the driveway. Un-paralleled excitement fills the air as he goes to open the door. "Hey, how are ya? Here ya go...it'll be $22.05." "Thanks man...keep the change!" The young man's night was now set...he had his "Matty Special" (2 pizzas) and he was now able to enjoy his night...

The above story is a very simple example of many, many, many nights in my life. I used to eat an enormous amount of food and didn't much care for exercise. Sure, I would play an occasional game of basketball but did not have any discipline in my life. This lifestyle stuck with me for years. I never thought anything of it and then one day...I got completely winded going up a single flight of stairs. I remember the feeling all too well. I tipped the scales at an all time high...311 Lbs. I knew I had to make a change for my own health. Here's a quick glimpse of the "before" Matty...

I thought about joining the local Rec Center b/c it was really close to my house and a tad cheaper than a real Gym but after a little research I knew that Lifestyles Fitness (now Gold's Gym) was the place for me. When I first started going to the gym, I didn't know much at all about fitness or how to properly use the equipment. I would sort of wander and try things out but got a lot of my knowledge just by watching others and how they did things. I gradually got into a groove and found what worked for me. I changed my diet and no longer let myself eat 5 pizzas a week and cut things like: soda, ice cream, white bread, cookies, candy and any other crappy food out of my diet. To this day...over 4 years later...I haven't had a soda, and I'm very proud of it. I found a new lifestyle and something that I genuinely loved and something that I was good at. The stairmaster turned into a literal fat-burning machine and no joke, I would go to the gym and would weigh 7-8 lbs less than I did the day before...it was working and I was hooked! I ended up losing 119 lbs in 6 months. I don't know if this is typical because I was very extreme with my fitness but I know that if my lazy butt can do it, so can you! After my weight loss I was a little too light. The next picture is the "in between Matty," when I was a little too skinny...

I went down to 192 lbs and my body wasn't happy...I became susceptible to illness and got mononucleosis and my body forced me to take a break. After a few weeks, when I was healthy, I went back into the gym and thought..."I need to start lifting and put on some muscle." I educated myself and used anything I could for motivation. It's so easy to just NOT GO but it was so important to stick with it. I'm not gonna lie, putting on muscle mass is not as easy as losing fat but it's equally as rewarding. Thanks to the many locations and convenient hours ;) I lifted A LOT and gradually saw changes in my body. It's so addicting because you start feeling so good and looking so good and I never wanted to leave the gym! Dang you fatigue! The next picture was about 9 months after the last...

Again, this post has two purposes in my mind...(1) exercise and health is vital in a person's life and (B) having a wonderful place to go to (Gold's Gym) where you can feel motivated and dedicated is equally important. I tried the whole working out at home thing but found that it didn't work the way I wanted because it's so easy to cut your workouts short and "cheat."

I never like to boast about my story but felt inclined to share a little bit in the event that someone out there may be motivated by it. If I can change my lifestyle and change my life then ANYBODY can! That's not just a cheesy/overused line....it's true! Whether you have 10 or 100 lbs to lose, find your motivation and you can do it!

Do Me a Personal Favor...

I found an extraordinary version of Coldplay's "Yellow" and it is amazing! It's only Chris Martin and a piano. Seriously, do me a favor...un-mute your computer or turn up your volume b/c this song starts up right away. Listen to the whole thing, it may change your life...it's that good!

S.M.I to the L.E.Y.

In 2nd grade, I was given a wonderful nickname, and at the time...I hated it! It lived with me til about 8th grade. The kids would say..."Hey Smiley, come play four square..." or something like that. At the time I didn't know why they gave me such a radical name. It's due to the fact that I NEVER STOPPED SMILING! Seriously...I was either hatching a scheme, daring someone to do something, laughing at a joke (probably my own) or just sitting there. But life was good and I liked to smile. I try my hardest to keep this outlook on life and just smile/laugh as much as I can.

A very wise person once said..."I really believe laughing is the cure to a happier, healthier, more laid back life. There are a lot of instances that could easily be annoying or frustrating, but allowing yourself to laugh about it eases up so much tension and unneeded drama. Don't you just love laughing? It's one of the best feelings in the world."

Anything can make us smile. If we stop taking ourselves so seriously and realize that we are all just big kids then I think life would be a lot nicer.

The funny thing is...I originally started this post because I found a YouTube video that makes me laugh so hard every time I watch it. And that has provided me with a great platform to promote smiling!

But let me set up this clip...Do you remember Jean Claude Van Damme? He was a hot-shot karate man back in the 80's/early 90's and (now looking back) made funny movies. This scene is basically just him being drunk in a bar and then he starts dancing (I love to random dance and have already incorporated some of these moves into my routine) and then the "locals" get upset. With ease Jean Claude wipes the floor with all of them! Just give it a chance and allow yourself to laugh!


If that didn't do it for you...and I don't know how it couldn't...Try this...


Gotta love the 'Burbs!

Spread the word!

Ya know...I would love one...

I am the biggest connoisseur of lettuce and lettuce wraps in the continental United States of America. There's a fella in Anchorage that's got me beat but, hey, Alaska ain't continental is it?

Anyway....all this means is...I love lettuce, especially when it's filled with amazingly seasoned, tender chicken. (Is that weird?) Maybe it's the lovely green color. I've heard lettuce described as being water in solid form. I don't know about that, but I'm not one to judge.

I wanted to start the new month off right...so I accepted a co-worker's offer of a free lettuce wrap today. Oh my, it was very satisfying!