2009 Holiday Greetings

Mery Christmas and Happy Holidays to all!

Welcome to the 2009 edition of the the Ellis Family Scramble. Happy holidays to all our friends and family and safe travels to all who are en route to celebrate with loved ones.

It's been a great year for us. Most recently, I finished my last fall quarter of grad school...that means only 3 more classes and 5 months until I graduate! It's a great feeling and I'm trying to soak up all the fun I can between now and January 4th when classes begin again, but it feels so good to see a permanent light at the end of the tunnel.

Highlights from this year definitely include Pelotonia, a bike ride in Columbus that raised money for cancer research at OSU's James Cancer Center. The event took place the last weekend in August. Elwood and I both rode 50 miles and we each committed to raising $1000. 100% of the money raised goes to cancer research, and this was just the first of 5 annual rides orignating in Columbus with a goal to end cancer. When it was all said and done, Pelotonia 2009 raised $4.5 million. Thanks to everyone who supported us and cheered us on! It was among the most rewarding experiences of our lives. It was also the longest amount of time either one of us had spent on a bicycle, but it was a beautiful and cool morning and the open country roads in Southeast Ohio were just amazing. People lined up along the road, at the end of their driveways to cheer us on and thank us for riding, and there were horses and other farm animals grazing on thier land to entertain riders along the way. It was an amazing experience!

In September we went to Italy and spent a week traveling through Rome and along the Amalfi Coast. We went to celebrate our first wedding anniversary. The weather was perfect, and the crowds had just dwindled enough to make for a relaxing but adventurous trip. Among the best experiences in Italy: the food, the fresh pasta and seafood, the delicious and inexpensive wines and cheeses, climbing Mt. Vesuvius (mainland Europe's only active volcano!) and Positano (shown left), a seaside city built into the side of a mountain. We also visited Pompeii, the site of an ancient Roman city that was destroyed by Mt. Vesuvius when it erupted in 79 AD. The trip was such a great experience and was very tiring. We never slept in, and could hardly sit still except when we were eating or traveling by train or bus because there was just so much to see and do! Another highlight was visiting the Vatican. We went really early in the morning and it was raining when we arrived so there were no lines at all, which was a welcome surprise considering we were expecting to wait in line for up to 3 or 4 hours to get in. In the picture below we're standing in the rain at the top of St. Peter's Basilica overlooking Rome.

I also started a new job at the Ohio Union the last week of October. I'm still at OSU, but now doing training & development for the staff of the Union, as well as helping prepare for the grand opening of the new Ohio Union this spring. The building is just gorgeous and there is still a lot of work to be done to make it move-in ready. The job is great, and so are the people there. It's a very interesting and exciting place to be right now...new unions don't come along all that often so it's a very unique experience to witness all of the planning and details that need to be accounted for, as well as planning all the training that new building tenants and new hires need to go through.

For more details about the new union, visit http://ohiounion.osu.edu/new/

Those are the big highlights of our year. Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! All the best in 2010 and we look forward to seeing many of you soon!

Love,

Megan, Elwood & Punky

Welcome to our holiday greeting blog! We hope this finds you well and enjoying the season. Please scroll down for photos and updates!! This mix of pictures includes two shots from our beachside bungalow week in Mexico; our visit to see Buzz and Barri in Naples with Andy; the zoo that is our backyard! Those are two baby groundhogs that lived under our deck (and sunbathed on our deck) and they drove Punky crazy and ate all of my cilantro!

2008 Recap

The photos below include a picture of Elwood with Pappy, the two of us at the Ryder Cup, and me with Pappy, Mom and Aunt Mary at our Rehearsal Dinner.

As you know, 2008 was a big year for us. We've had lots of adventures, big and small. We got married! I know many of you were able to make it to Columbus and we appreciated having you here. It was such a great time in our lives!! And we of course want to mention how thankful we are to our families for their support in bringing together the wedding day and all things leading up to it. THANKS!!!
And we honeymooned in Mexico, which was the most amazing trip ever. The pictures I'm posting here just do not do it justice. The only way to truly experience Mexico is to go to Mexico. And if you think you're eating good salsa here in the States, go to Mexico. They serve it with guacamole at every meal. Here in Columbus you can get an avocado on sale for $1.50. So, a week of eating guacamole at just one meal a day (and fresh guacamole at that!) would be pricey. In mexico, it's a staple, and we took advantage of that as much as we could. And no, I didn't ever get sick of eating chips and salsa and guacamole!!!
I'm happy to report that I am nearly 1/2 way through my masters at Ohio State. YAY! Only 5 more quarters to go. I'm getting my masters in Human Resources, and working at the Fisher College of Business in the Career Management office. I work with companies and recruiters who want to hire Fisher students. Elwood works at Cardinal Health as a manager in the Treasury Department, and does the majority of the cooking around the house. He's a GREAT cook. And I try to be a great sous chef. Punky is our dog. She's 8, and I love dressing her up and accessorizing her for pictures. I used to think that putting clothes and things on animals was wrong, but then I realized that they get cold, and sweaters, scarves, boots, hats, etc - they're all fine to put on your dog - as long as you don't go overboard on the animal wardrobe.
I get asked "so how's married life" a lot - and it's great! Especially right now that I'm not in school during the week. More time for fun! I'll be happy to update you all as we move through 2009, but that's all I have to say for right now. We wish you all a happy, exciting, safe and merry holiday season. All the best in 2009 and we'll be in touch. For now, some photos from the past year. Enjoy! Love Megan & Elwood Ellis

Merry Christmas!

Hello friends! Instead of using snail mail to send greeting cards this year, we're trying our hand at Blogging! Keep checking back for updates - for now, Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and Happy New Year!