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!!!