Doggie Central

The Marshik's are in Cancun with Jaime's family, and one of their dog's, Sammie, is staying with us. Which is awesome, because Cosmo and Sammie, are like, totally bff's!! They get along great, and it's nice for Cosmo to have someone to play with. Cosmo also likes to hump Sammie, which is weird, but also slightly hilarious. Here's a cute picture I shot of the girls watching a squirrel out the window the other day.

When Cory and I leave for PA on Friday, Sammie goes to the kennel for a day or so until the Marshik's get back, and Cosmo goes to the Parris's to play with her friend Lola! Then when we get back, the Parris's leave, so Lola comes with us back to the Sholl casa. It's great to have friends with dogs so we can all help each other out!

Snow Day!

Seriously! In Texas!! Last Wednesday, it was really cold, and not just cold for Texas, it was in the low 30s on the way to work and it didn't really warm up like it usually does. On the way home it started raining a little bit, but as I sat at a traffic light, I noticed this 'rain' kind of bouncing off my windshield. It was actually sleeting!! Then in the evening, Alicia called me and told me it was snowing at her house, but I looked outside and was sad to see it wasn't snowing at ours! I forgot about it for a little, and then Cory and I went to deliver some holiday goodies to the Marshik's, and it was snowing!! And real snow! I wouldn't call it a 'snow storm', but it was real honest to goodness snow, that even stuck on our lawns and our rooves! Of course it was almost all gone in the morning, and they tried to ruin my good mood by closing the bypass that I take to work, because it's pretty much all elevated and they have no way of salting roads here because it just doesn't snow! But that night I was just so happy, and so was everyone I saw! Snow just brings out the kid in everyone, and it was really neat to see here in Texas! Here are some picutres that Cory took!

Holiday Baking and Cooking

My kitchen has been a busy place the past few weeks, I've been baking up a storm! Last year I started a tradition of giving goodies to my friends for holiday presents. I love to bake, and who doesn't like extra treats at the holiday's? This year they got homemade chex mix, fudge, and chocolate snowflake pops. I thought it all turned out really cute!

I also recently made a pecan pie and oreo truffles for a friend's holiday party. I was so happy with my pecan pie because last time I made it, it didn't set up and it was runny. This one was perfect!

This past weekend I did a lot of baking and cooking. I went to Beth's on Saturday to help her make 8 zillion dozen cookies for her friend who was in the Dickinson Tour of Homes (kinda like an open house thing). We came up with a new cookie variety, the Peppermint Butter cookie, let us know if you want the recipe, it's sure to be famous. (For serious, we put way too much Butter Flavored Crisco in them, accidentally, not knowing that butter and crisco do not have a 1-to-1 substitution. But seriously, they tasted fine. Just ignore that coating on the roof of your mouth, ok folks? We worked hard on those!)
I also made a Thanksgiving feast on Sunday and the Wilke's and the Woods's came over to help us eat it! We got turkey dinner on the cruise, but it just wasn't the same as all my mom's traditional recipes, so I bought a turkey on sale after Thanksgiving, and made that, stuffing, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, and cope's corn (a Lancaster county dish)! Oh and a divine chocolate pie, if I do say so myself! Unfortunately I don't have any pictures of that; or maybe fortunately, so you don't drool on your keyboard ;) Everyone loved it and Wilke even said I am, and I quote, "one of the best cooks I know". I really do enjoy cooking and baking, but it's even better when my friends enjoy it too!

Cruisin' for Turkey Day

I'm a little behind on blogging, please forgive me! I have a hard time keeping up.
Over Thanksgiving, Cory and I were lucky enough to go on a cruise with my parents and my sister and her husband. A few years ago, my parents had the idea that instead of exchanging presents for the holidays and birthdays, we should take a trip together each year instead. We all easily agreed, as time together is hard to come by these days, especially with me and Cory living so far away. Well this is the first year we made it happen, and we all met up in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, on Thanksgiving Day! We cruised with Royal Caribbean, on the Navigator of the Seas, which was a huge, beautiful ship. It was a great time - we had lots of sunshine, lots of good food, and most importantly, lots of good drinks. I mean, most importantly, lots of quality time with my family! Thursday and Friday we were at sea, and the ladies sunned on the top deck of the ship with several pina coladas, while the fellas headed to the Casino. Saturday we were in Cozumel, where we did a jungle hike excursion and got to see some Mayan ruins. They were really, well, ruined, but our tour guide was awesome, and it was really neat. Sunday was pretty much a repeat of Friday. It was a great little vacation!

Our Little Sholl-Devil

Get it? Sholl-devil; she-devil? I'm so clever.

Cosmo has been a bad girl lately. She's been eating our blinds :( We don't know what started it, but we haven't enjoyed it. Here's a picture of her handi-work.

But ya know what? We still love her. Cuz right now she's playing with three of her toys at the same time and it's the best thing ever in life. And cuz just look at this face:

How could you not forgive that? Honestly, I don't know how she lives with her own cuteness sometimes. I just don't.

House Project: Painting our bedroom

We have a lot of projects we want to do here in the Sholl house and one of them is painting our bedroom. We've actually had the paint for about a year and a half now. We got it when we got our pressure washer (Marshik's, we've got our eye on you ;) ) back when Home Depot was having a good deal. Well we finally got around to painting! Cory really loves cutting-in, so if you ever need help, let him know ;) And I'm pretty handy with a roller! Here are a few shots of our progress so far.

Cory's Birthday

Cory doesn't seem to like to blog anymore so I will write about his birthday. It also gives me a chance to show off what a great wife I am ;) His bday was last Friday and he turned 27! I got him this beautiful tool chest that he wanted with some DVDs tucked inside (Transformers on bluray, and That 70s Show season 5). Please also note the beautiful handmade bow and card.

I also made him this delicious beef jerky

and this even more delicious chocolate cake with peanut butter icing!

We went to happy hour at Boondoggles on Friday and then downtown to see our friend's friend's band. It was a fun night!! I hope you had a great birthday baby :)

PS - I don't know what that stupid grey line down the middle of our blog is. If you know how to get rid of it, please tell us!

MUDD-E

Last weekend, me, Alicia, Nujoud, Lisa, and Melissa took a road trip to Fort Worth to get muddy! We did the Mud Run, a 10 k run with military style obstacles throughout. It was super fun, we overcame some fears of heights (me mostly), and we got really muddy! And best of all, everyone loved our t-shirts that had our team name, MUDD-E. Melissa was injured so she came along anyways and was our official photographer! Here's a link to the awesome pictures she took:
http://picasaweb.google.com/meliwallace/MudRun2008#
And here's a shot of us enjoying our Mudslides, post-race!

Next time, Melissa will be running, and I've already recruited Jaime too, and possibly even some husbands!

St. Lucia

Cory and I went on our honeymoon in beautiful St. Lucia! I can't believe it's been over a month since we've been back. I finally got our pictures off our cameras and taught myself how to imbed a slideshow (I think)! We had a wonderful time doing lots of eating, drinking, and relaxing, and we even caught the second half of the Penn State game that weekend! St. Lucia was beautiful, and the Sandals resort was great; when can we go on another honeymoon?
The picures are out of order because they came off of three cameras, but you'll get the idea! Enjoy!

Mr. and Mrs. Sholl!

We haven't posted in so long - after Hurricane Ike, we got busy wrapping things up at work and getting ready to leave for PA! Cory and I spent the week prior to the wedding at our respective homes with our families. I really enjoyed my time with my family and my bridesmaids, relaxing and getting all the last minute things ready. I know Cory had fun, too, wakeboarding in the freezing Susquehanna river and hanging out with his family.

The wedding was perfect; everything we imagined it would be! Friday, October 3rd was a beautiful, crisp day - the exact kind of Pennsylvania fall day I had hoped for. I was nervous all day and finally calmed down about an hour before the ceremony while I was getting dressed with the girls. But right before my dad and I walked down the aisle my heart started pounding! Once I saw Cory though, all those butterflies went away. He looked so handsome, and I felt beautiful. The reception was awesome and it was so great to see all the people we love, and know that they were there for us. We danced and drank the night away and it all went entirely too fast, but I keep replaying everything in my head and it was just the perfect day.

Here's a link to a blogshow that our photographer put together. Hopefully we'll get the rest of our pictures soon!

http://www.kmphotographystudio.com/SHOLLBLOGSHOW/

And now we're officially the Sholls, and I'm so happy to be able to call Cory my husband!

Coming soon... pictures from our fabulous honeymoon in St. Lucia!

Ike Aftermath

Last night we heard a rumor that our neighborhood got power back, and our friends the Marshik's were generous enough to drive by again and confirm this for us this morning. So we got some fresh food at Walmart, gassed up the truck, and headed out of San Antonio. So long La Quinta, you served us well, and if we ever have to evacuate again, we'll be back for your free happy hour!
We made it home in about 4 hours which is pretty normal for that drive. We started seeing damage as far out as Katy and it got worse as we got closer to home. We pulled into our neighborhood and people had piles of branches and fence at their curbs. Some of our neighbors even had soggy rolled up carpet because they had roof damage. Our whole time away, this whole thing seemed surreal to me, and seeing this, it finally sunk in for me that Ike hit Houston, the place where we live.
We finally got to see our house, and as our friends told us, it's fine. We don't even see a single shingle missing. I think we lucked out that we have a 1-story house and we're surrounded by 2-story homes on all three sides. Our front trees had some limbs missing and our already-crappy fence took a beating. We'll probably need to replace a lot of it. The biggest damage was to the large tree in our back yard, two huge limbs fell off which took about half of the tree with it. They're currently leaning on part of our fence and tomorrow we'll work on chopping it down and getting it out to the curb.
Here are some pictures. First, the ones I promised of our house all boarded up, pre-Ike. As you can see it is dark out, as it took us until about 10 pm last Wednesday to get this done.

As soon as we got home today, Cory un-boarded the house while I unpacked the truck. Then I cleaned out the fridge and freezer; threw out everything since we were without power for a few days. We took our patio furniture back outside and Cory repaired part of the fence that the neighbors hadn't gotten to yet so at least Cosmo can roam free in the back yard. Here are some pics of the damage.

So we're relaxing now, and excited to sleep in our own bed. As of now, we don't have work until at least Thursday, but I wouldn't be surprised if we were off the rest of the week. Overall I feel like we dodged a bullet. Yeah we need to fix some fence and we had to throw away a bunch of food from the fridge and freezer. But a lot of people have no home to return to, and no money to fix the damage to their homes. So I feel lucky that this is all we have to do, and that we are able to take care of it. Most of our friends homes have minmal to no damage as well, and I'm really greatful for them too.

Thanks to all our friends and family for checking in on us and keeping us in your thoughts! Hearing from you helped us get through those anxious waiting-hours. We can't wait to see you all in a few short weeks!

Ike Sucks

Hurricane Ike is barrelling down on Texas. Wednesday night we boarded up our house (pictures coming soon) and packed up some stuff, including my wedding gown in a giant rubbermaid container. We left early Thursday morning and caravaned to San Antonio with the Marshiks and the Wilkes. Alicia and Brent made it shortly after. We're all staying at a La Quinta. It's pretty nice, we got a government rate of $89, they have free happy hour each evening, and it's pet friendly. Between the 4 families we have 4 dogs, 2 rabbits and a bird!
Last night we used our evacuee status to our advantage and scored 3 free giant bottles of wine at the Macaroni Grill. So we've actually been having a pretty fun time here, and I'm glad we're all together. But we can't help watching the weather channel, waiting to see what will happen to our homes! A bunch of us are actually in me and Cory's hotel room now watching as the eye of the hurricane makes landfall. Keep us in your thoughts!
More updates soon...

Jury Doodie

I know, two posts in one day, crazy, right?
Anywho, I had jury duty this week. Or as my crazy sister calls it, jury 'doodie', because it stinks hehe. So 100s of us reported on Tuesday (not Monday because it was Labor Day), and they told us some rules and talked a lot, and then assigned us to cases. The 40 or so people in my group got assigned to a case on Wednesday at 10. We reported back to the courthouse and they did the whole jury selection process, and what do you know - I got picked! After I got over the initial 'damnit I can't believe I got picked' reaction, I accepted it and actually found it pretty interesting! It was sort of like what you see on tv, accept the Judge was super nice and explained stuff to the jury, and the lawyers were much less articulate. I actually really didn't like either of the lawyers, and it kind of helped me understand why everyone hates lawyers. They were almost demeaning in the way they talked to us which was irritating.
The toughest part was going back in the courtoom when the judge read the verdict. It's hard knowing somemone in that room is going to be really upset with your decision! Our jury only deliberated for a half hour though. We all agreed pretty immediately; so I feel we made the right decision.
Two things I did find extremely annoying:
1. The only witnesses actually present were the defendant and the plaintiff. The one witness was a doctor, talking about injuries that the plaintiff incurred in the car accident that the case was about. He had a videotaped deposition!
2. The defendent wasn't there on the second day. Yes you read that correctly. I guess their case got pushed up and the judge told us that she had something that she couldn't miss. SERIOUSLY?
So you're telling me that it's basically impossible for me to get our of Jury Doodie, but the witnesses can tape their answers, and the defendent doesn't even have to show. Here's my idea. Next time I have to sit, how about you tape the trial and send it to me, and then I'll watch it and give you my verdict ;)
Really though, overall it wasn't that bad. So next time you get that jury summons in the mail, you don't need to dread it as much as you think!

Bachelor & Bachelorette Party Weekend

Almost two weeks ago already, Cory and I had a bunch of our closest friends come to Houston to celebrate with us! We hung out as a group mostly and had tons of fun, but on Saturday night, the guys and the gals parted ways and had our own fabulous parties.
The girls planned a Penn State style pre-party for me at the house, and then a limo came and picked us up for a night on the town! I had some fun bachelorette attire and we all had our penis straws in hand! Here are a few of the more tame pictures from the night. Missing are my dear friends Carolyn from PSU and Jaime from H-town, who were sadly unable to join us for the festivities. But don't worry gals, we had enough drinks to cover you ;)

Here's me with Heather, Alicia, Beth, Allison, Lisa, Lauren, Nujoud, Jody, and Lauri. Not surprisingly, these are some of the only blog-appropriate pictures ;)

Thanks for such a great night ladies! I truly couldn't ask for better friends!

These wonderful ladies also had a bridal shower for me, so here's a pic from that of everyone (except Lauren because she took it), plus Jen who wasn't at the b-party, and Sydney, Beth's too-cute daughter.

Of course the guys didn't take any pictures, because, well, they're guys. But we hear they had a great time too, with lots of alcohol had by all. Here's a pic of all the out-of-towners who were staying at our house. From left: Dan, Jody, Lauren, Ben, Allison, and Heather. You know those weirdos in the front ;)

Thanks so much to everyone for celebrating with us! We can't wait to do it again at the wedding!!!

Fun-filled PA weekend

Last weekend, Cory and I went up to PA for a bunch of fun events! My friend from high school and college, Geoff, got married on Saturday night at Penn State! It was a beautiful ceremony and super-fun reception, and great to see a bunch of old friends from high school. And of course it was great to be back at Penn State, because in case you didn't know, we really like it there ;)

Cory's going to show me how to load a slideshow later, so here's a few pics for now!

Here's me and my sister Heather at the Saloon on Friday night, drinking Monkey Boys! Mmm!

And here's the four of us, me, Cory, Heather, and her husband Aaron, at the Lion Shrine between the wedding ceremony and reception.

On Sunday we got up and headed back to Lancaster to meet almost my entire Dad's side of the family for a surprise 85th birthday party for my Grandma! There are nine of us cousins on that side of the family, and only two couldn't make it. Everyone else was there, including the 4 great-grandchildren, none of whom I had met yet! So I was really glad that it worked out that Cory and I could make it. And Grandma was really surprised! :)

And here's one of everyone that was there, and then all the cousins that were there with Grandma.

On Sunday evening we got to see Cory's family! His mom picked us up and we went and saw his sister Amy, and her family. Here's Connor (he's 7), Blake (3), and finally a baby sister, Jayden (1 month).

Monday we went to Cory's dad's house at the river and enjoyed the sun and some wakeboarding. No pics of that unfortunately! It was a great weekend!!

A new blogger at the C-spot

I finally decided to join the blogger world, so I had Cory add me as an author on his page; or should I say 'our' page - aww :) He even changed the name of the blog to 'the Sholls'! Less than three months and we will be!!!

Since I'm just learning, I have to put some pictures so I can learn how to do that. So here's a picture of what we had for dinner:

Yummo! Homemade pizza with pesto, fresh mozzarella, tomatoes, a pinch of salt and a sprinkle of parmesan cheese. Wow it was good!

And here's a few of how we're sprucing up the yard:

We bought everything last weekend and planted the grasses and the flowers. Today after work we planted the bushes in the front. We liked the bright colors, they reminded us of fall in PA. The guy at the plant-store said they'd stay like this year round, so hopefully he was right!!

Stay tuned for more updates from me - hopefully this won't be a one time thing!