This just breaks my heart.

Christmas idea

Thought this was a cute idea to decorate my house at Christmas time. I feel like there is a possibilty they could come out being cheesy or cute. Not sure - guess I'll just have to try it!

Wait...what house?

Plus I used to make these origami balloons all the time in high school! I could whip several up in no time.

Weddings can be awkward. Can we avoid that??

So I just watched a wedding video online at some photographer's website and it was awkward! Can we not have an awkward wedding? I'm not sure if that's possible but if it is, I hope that's how ours will be.

They had a close-up of the couple as they were doing their first dance and singing together. Cute right? No. It was weird. I've decided for sure that I don't want my wedding video-taped. I will look too goofy. I don't want to post a link to the video I am referring to but I will post a different, fun video!

This video (of a toast) is goofy too but not awkward (in my opinion). It is a bit eccentric but what can I say...I'm a sucker.

Go here to see the video: Amy's Song

What did I do?

Great. Now I messed up my blog. I was playing around with different templates and now I can't get rid of that bulleted list below my blog title. I can't find where it says that on the back end. I've deleted everything I possibly could in an attempt to get rid of it!

Help?

Pumpkins

Look at my masterpiece! Robert and I carved pumpkins this weekend :)

Do they carve pumpkins in Hawaii? I've asked my Hawaii friend...I'll let you know what she says. Maybe they carve pineapples or something?

Anyway...here is my masterpiece:

Flower thoughts...

My old flower thought: tiger lilies because they were my favorite flower growing up but I'm not quite sure about the choice of colors they come in.

New flower thoughts: cherry blossoms...in season in April and I think using it during the ceremony would look really pretty! Not so sure how easy they are to get a hold of or how expensive they are. Guess I should do some more research.

Wedding updates

Most likely venue: Riverdale Manor (We've pretty much decided it will be here but I can't say that officially because we haven't booked it yet.)

Social Media

So I'm realizing there is a whole lot more to social media than I ever could have expected. Lately I've been farting around on something called Twitter. I never heard of it before we began experimenting with it at work. At an internship fair I attended at Kutztown University today, we asked most of the students interested in our internship if they've ever heard of it and maybe one person say yes. Guess that means I'm not alone?

The way I've been describing it to people is that it is similiar to posting updates on your facebook profile. It's just a 140 character blurb on what you're doing. You can have conservations that way! It's benefitial to us at work because we are able to post our events and announcements for those "following" us. We are beginning to make some progess using it as a marketing tool.

Sign up and "follow" me! I give you permission to stalk me :)

Me: http://twitter.com/kaschmie
Work: http://twitter.com/lehighvalleypa

Boo!

Very clever and cute!

Hello my name is

Melissa.
I'm coming up on almost a year of visiting Wawa for my morning coffee 5 days a week (oh yea and almost a year at my job too) and sometime over the course of that almost-year, I've acquired the name Melissa (it's not every day that people get to choose which way to spell their name).

Carol, the friendly, chipper coffee lady knows me only by my apparent new alias, Melissa or sometimes it's Melis for short (seriously!?). Couldn't she have picked a better, cooler name? No offense to the name Melissa or anyone who goes by that but it's not something I would have picked for myself.

Where did she get the idea that that was my name anyway? I never told her my name was Kendall but I also never told her my name was Melissa.

What she might have heard...

• The accent in both names is in the middle, maybe that threw her off? Go ahead, say it out loud...keNDall...melISsa. Okay so that might be a stretch.
• My mom, who also frequents Wawa with me in the morning, might have said one time..."here take this" referring to the coffee cup she was handing me and maybe Carol heard "here Melis"
• Maybe my mom said "What do you want for lunch today? Turkey and swiss?" and Carol thought she said "What do you want for lunch today Melis?"
• My mom's name is Lisa. I could see the progression...Melissa...Lisa...lis...
• Or maybe she knows it's not my name and she secretly thinks it's funny. She's probably waiting to see how long it takes me to correct her. Two can play at this game!

No Wawa tomorrow but back to Melis on Monday.

Latest listens

I thought I would post some songs I've been listening to recently. I know, I've become a softey.

**Track 3 is "After Tonight" by Justin Nozuka

Note: You should listen to all the songs but there is an extra special one at the end! :)

I know it's Fall when...

...my legs itch and turn into chalk sticks.

...it's dark when I wake up and never get to work on time.

...my pants start static clinging to your legs.

...I realize I can't play the "but it's my birthday" card anymore.

...I'd rather stay in the hot shower forever then step out into the cold bathroom.

...it doesn't matter where I move my visor, I'm still blinded by the sun.

...my clothes are wrinkly because they've been shoved in the back of my drawers.

...I go for the hot coffee instead of iced coffee.

...I start humming Christmas songs (yes I know that is winter).

...I compulsively check for ghost show marathons and intentionally freak myself out.

...I write boring posts like this one...

HAPPY FALL!!

Favorite cafes and creperies

1. Currently, I have a craving for chicken quesadillas with a side of sour cream for dipping and a tasty vineyard chicken salad sandwich. Mmmm and a hazelnut iced coffee. Where from? Prince Street Cafe...my all-time, favorite, most wonderful coffee shop located in downtown Lancaster. Bathrooms get an A+ too!

2. My runner up for favorite cafe/creperie is in fact a creperie. Rachel's Cafe and Creperie in Lancaster to be exact. I enjoy the classic fruit crepe (with strawberries, banana and whipped cream) and a fruit smoothie. It's a cute little cafe that is about as French as you can get for Lancaster. Mmmm, a perfect dessert to my vineyard chicken salad sandwich from Prince Street Cafe....

3. And last but certainly not least...it still lands in my top three...Mas Cafe in Emmaus. Thanks to Lauren (btw...hi Lauren, i know you are my one and only faithful follower) who introduced me to this charming place. They have amazing iced chai (thanks again Lauren) and it's right in the heart of Emmaus. They have cool bathrooms too!

I can't believe its not butter

Now I am not really a video game person but my cousin had this game that he let me borrow. I love it! It's for the Nintendo DS (which I don't currently have but borrow Robert's whenever possible). It's called something like Mario and Sonic at the Bejing Olympics. I'm pretty much becoming a master of the game. I've gotten a few perfect 10s in my time. My personal favorites are the vault in gymnastics and platform diving in aquatics. Might I add that I work up quite a sweat trying to get more events unlocked.

Hey...Carrie Underwood, Nicole Kidman, Liv Tyler and America Ferrara all play it so why can't I??

Hmm, maybe its now time for the gym where I can work up a real sweat!

If I had a million dollars...

I would spend some of it on this wedding photographer...
http://www.tyingtheknot.net/index2.php

Tying the knot stuck to a wall?

Unofficially, it looks like Robert and I will be tying the knot at Riverdale Manor in Lancaster. More details to come!

For now, I hope you find this picture as entertaining as I did...

Frogmore Stew

So today we are having something called Frogmore Stew. First of all, the name implies to me that there are frogs in it. Eww. Apparently the name is deceiving because there are not frogs in this stew. However it doesn't really get much better (for me at least).

After some research I found out that Frogmore Stew is a South Carolinian recipe and it gets its name from a place that has only a post office on one side of the road and a two-story white country store on the other. Frogmore is the mailing address for the residents of St. Helena Island just off the South Carolina coast. Legend has it that local shrimpers just used whatever ingredients they had on hand to make the stew.

Interested in what it does actually have in it? I just have one word....

Disgusting.

Here is the recipe in anyone is interested:

Frogmore Stew
1 1/2 gallons water
Juice of one (1) lemon
Salt to taste
3 tablespoons Old Bay Seasoning
2 pounds sausage (kielbasa, etc.), cut into 1/2" slices
10 to 12 ears of corn on the cob, broken into 3" pieces
4 pounds uncooked shrimp in shell

In a large stock pot, add the water, lemon, salt, and Old Bay Seasoning; bring to a boil. Add sausage and gently boil, uncovered, five minutes. Add corn and cook an additional five minutes (begin timing immediately, don't wait until water is boiling). Add shrimp and cook three minutes longer. Remove from heat, drain immediately, and serve. Yields 8 servings.

Looks like I'll be grilling some chicken.

Perfect wedding spot: TBA

This weekend Robert and I will decide where the lucky spot will be for our wedding. Because I said so. There are three things that have been bothering me...where to get married, where to live and where to work. At least one of them will be decided this weekend. Because I said so! : )

Perfect wedding spot: Riverdale Manor?

Outdoor ceremony location (if it rains we can go under the covered side porch or inside--look below)

Reception area inside

Perfect wedding spot: Landis Valley Museum?

Inside the Yellow Barn

The Yellow Barn

I love this picture

If Robert and I were to ever have engagement pictures taken, I would request one look exactly like this picture! I love the colors and how it almost looks like a painting. It's romantic too!

Back to school

Well, it's time for back to school...but not for us "working" folk in the "real world." At this time last year I would have been showing up for the 2nd day of Tuesday/Thursday classes, probably in Hash (the building, not the drug for those of you who are non-alumni) and inevitably handing in some kind of homework assignment. I never would have thought I would say this but here it goes...I miss doing homework. Yikes!

During the last few weeks I've been reminiscent of my college experience and how lucky I am that I had a great first and continuous college roommate and best friend (Lauren), that there were upperclassmen on the 11th floor of Burrowes Hall who actually cared to help out the freshman (Jess) and that I met so many other long-lasting friends that I still keep in touch with outside of good ol' Millersville...

…Here’s to Skully and Marauder, Miller and S’Ville, Galley and Gordinier, Burrowes and Wellness, RAs and no As, Banana Hands and Bike Mike, Village and Brick, the quad and dorm rooms, afternoon naps and all-nighters, homework and avoiding homework, stalkers and stalkings, dirt dessert and Italian sodas, best friends and lost friends, fiancés and ex-boyfriends, heartaches and triumphs, the good times and the bad and most of all, the best times of my life.

My new home in Greece

Where to move? And when? To rent or own? These are the questions Robert and I have been plagued with over the last few months. I've decided. We will rent this beautiful house in Greece and live there happily ever after with our Golden Retriever puppy. Family and friends will most definitely be missed but I'm sure we will have a spare bedroom or two for visitors.

Hobby or current distraction?

So obviously, this is my first blog post and I'm not quite sure what to make of it. I've done the blog thing before (when I was younger) and I've seen it done by others who post long stories about what they did on a particular day. That's not my intention for this blog so if at any time it comes off that way...PLEASE stop me. What is my intention for this blog, you ask? I'm not quite sure...I guess we'll just have to see how it goes.