Dear 100hookup,

We’re very, very happy and as great as this has been for us, our kids are the major beneficiaries of this union… our cats may require more convincing.

Aaron Friedman & Barb Sandoval are engaged! You’ve heard of Love at First Sight, but what about Love at First WRITE? Our love story began in the unlikely virtual boundlessness of cyberspace and blossomed in the interactive dual landscapes of suburban actual reality and North County single parenthood! We’re delighted to share the enthusiasm, joy, romance and happiness that is our real life fairy tale with all of you, our most dear and crazy family and friends… besides our kids, who else would believe this outrageousness but those who know us best and love us most?! If you don’t know us, we really DO exist, we really ARE this in love and we really do have KIDS WITH THE SAME NAME…and we just lived through our first garage sale!

Here’s the scoop on the Jews formerly known as 100hookuprs BarbSDNC & CheffinDad who met online in September 2003…

Meeting on 100hookup: Wanting to meet her “nice hookup man” once and for all, Barb logged on to 100hookup at the suggestion of a coworker whose friend met her fiancé on the site. After logging on and immediately spotting his smile, Barb read Aaron’s profile which conveyed all of the qualities of the man of her dreams (and, by the way, who he really is), then she tried to write to him but discovered that she had to join first. As soon as she did, she found that she had to create a profile. Frustrated, but motivated by the potential of meeting someone whom she just knew she was about to, & loving to write, her profile was a breeze… but when she finished, she didn’t have time to write to him because she had to pick up her daughter from the bus stop and then dig into helping her study for a big test. The next day, Barb woke up, ran to the computer room at her condo complex in her slippers and pj’s, logged on with the intention of writing to Aaron and found that he’d already written to her!

They emailed for a few days (they have virtually identical writing styles which they both noticed right away) and talked on the phone for 3 hours the night before their first date (and still have plenty to say to each other). It didn’t take long to discover that their core values (hookup hearts, practicing good works, being good parents), outlooks (giggle, hard work is good work, stay smart always, play hard sometimes), introspections (am I doing my best?, keep smiling, laugh at yourself, wounds are best healed in the Marshall’s chatchke isle and Cold Stone Creamery ), likes (names, their kids are both “Jordan”) and their dislikes (black olives) were so very closely aligned that mutual respect easily grew between their differences (East Coast/West Coast, she’s a little bit country… ie. homeopathic, he’s a little bit rock ‘n’ roll… ie. better living through chemicals).

The morning after their second date, they each requested that 100hookup remove their postings (but didn’t tell the other until later). The techs at 100hookup may not have been as thrilled because Barb’s photos had just been posted that morning. Even before meeting, the couple instantly realized what time together confirmed: they were soul mates and happily started down the road to commitment that they acknowledge is paved with all the experiences and struggles that brought them to the precise moment they found each other. The last five months have been a labor of love that was a total of 70 years in the making and will be good for at least another 55!

Barb’s Bio: Barb just turned 36 on the night they were engaged. Barb was born and raised up the I-15 in Fallbrook. A true local, Barb holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science from Cal State San Marcos. She is the proud mother of a 13-year old daughter, Jordan, a lovely & bright 8th grader at San Diego hookup Academy who is well on her way to high acclaim as a big sister. Barb is an executive administrative assistant with First Community Bancorp, a local holding company based in Carlsbad, where she is also the Disaster Recovery Project Coordinator. Barb loves being a mom, enjoys sports, reading, Judaica, the beach, spending time with friends and family, eating Aaron’s delicious culinary creations, listening to his music, drinking wine with him, laughing at him and their kids when she shouldn’t and she has recently learned to yell really loud at her future step-son’s soccer games. Barb regularly spends time volunteering with the Red Cross as a First Aid, CPR and AED instructor. Her full life was made complete when she met and fell in love with her soul mate, Aaron.

Aaron’s Bio: Aaron is a 35-year old Philadelphia native who’s lived in California for 5 years. Aaron also has one child; a smart, cool & funny 7-year old son, Jordan. YES, folks, 2 JORDANS!!! Aaron is an MBA and a Senior Project Manager for Jack in the Box in San Diego, where he is a key support on the Operations Services Management team. Given his tremendous eclectic talents, the Friedman home is a warm and inviting refuge filled with a rare combination of amazingly tantalizing aromas of any number of Aaron’s gourmet creations and the distinctive funky sounds of his extensive musical talents. In addition to fashioning exquisite delicacies and jamming on any of his four guitars or keyboard, Aaron regularly competes in bass fishing tournaments, enjoys gleefully screaming at his son’s soccer games, creating unusual “poetry,” choreographing “interpretive dance” which he relentlessly threatens to perform at his future step-daughter’s Bat Mitzvah, teasing Barb when she forgets her purse EVERYWHERE, laughing at the kids when he shouldn’t and being in love with his best friend, Barb.

The Proposal: Aaron proposed to Barb on January 15, 2004 at the conclusion of the brilliantly planned and flawlessly executed surprise birthday dinner he threw for her at Hernandez Hide Away; festive locale of their second date where the pair stayed talking for so long after dinner that the waitress had to kick them out (kinda like what happened at the sushi bar the night before!). Following desert and after opening what she believed was the last of her presents – the elegant black pearl and diamond earrings she’d more than strongly hinted that she wanted for her birthday – Aaron presented Barb with a familiar looking box; the same box, in fact, that had contained Barb’s Spanish black pearl bracelet she gave Aaron to more easily match the earrings she’d wished for. After helping her put on the earrings, Aaron told Barb that he’d brought the bracelet so she could see them together. Barb opened the box and nestled among the dark pearls she could see the glistening baguette side stones of her engagement ring. She immediately began to cry uncontrollably and hugged Aaron who was kneeling beside her and also crying. Barb could barely let go of Aaron, but with a few of his gentle words, she pulled back long enough for him to take her hand, look into her eyes and speak the words that would be her biggest and best surprise ever. She, of course, said yes with tears of joy and excitement and then was, for once, speechless.

There to witness and enjoy this magnificent event were Aaron’s son, Jordan; Barb’s daughter, Jordan (their kids are affectionately known as “The Jordans”); Barb’s mom, Lorraine; Barb’s long-time friends Yvonne Barber (who also video taped the occasion), Jen, Lars & Gabe Rasmussen, Rose Hofer and the very same waitress who’d kicked them out of the restaurant on their second date.

The ecstatic couple looks forward to officially blending their families in a traditional hookup wedding in Spring 2005; their rabbi will be performing his 5th 100hookup wedding!

THANK YOU SO MUCH, 100hookup, FOR THIS MITZVAH OF MITZVAHS!!!

Barb & Aaron
Rancho Bernardo, California

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