This is totally me with the "poof" test at the eye doctor. I am going tomorrow, I'll let you know if I survive.
8/10/09
Why Can't We Be Friends?
As of late, I have been noticing an increasing number of facebook posts, status updates, etc. that are quite judgemental. I hate to say the word "judgemental" because I feel that by my thinking THEY are being judgemental, I am being judgemental as well. But I can't help but notice all of this. It spans from Obama's health reform plan to judging what people are wearing...
Don't get me wrong, I'm always up for a good debate, but it seems as if sometimes this Obama business can go so far as to almost ruin relationships! For instance, Tony posted a facebook status update that was posing a question about the health care proposal to extreme republicans who are just going nuts with this concept, who say Obama is Satan and things of the sort. I believe everyone has a right to free speech and if anyone likes a good debate--it's TONY, but his comment has ruffled the feathers of many of his family members. Ruffled them a lot. Tony's uncle now refers to him as his "favorite left-leaning nephew" and his grandpa is appauled that Tony is "behind this plan." Everyone in his family seems to think Tony is some sort of Satan worshipper, when he was just looking at ideas objectively and getting more opionions so he could form his own. He never once said he was 100% behind the health care reform. If anything he said he could see flaws in it. Even if Tony is a left-leaning Satan worshipper, what's it to you? I just don't get people sometimes and how mean they can get with this stuff. I realize it's important for our nation to choose the best thing for us, but when you start name-calling and judging because someone thinks a little differently than you....that is so not cool.
Aside from politics, I noticed a facebook status the other day commenting on a girl who was wearing a skirt that was a little short for BYU standards on campus. Yes, I signed the Honor Code agreement. Yes, she did too. I would probably raise an eyebrow to her outfit as well, but I don't think I would dedicate a facebook status to show my disgust for her dress and how she is not following the honor code. Talk about Holier Than Thou. I'm sure that girl is a really good person and maybe her skirt is a little short, but that doesn't give anyone any right to judge her. Last I checked, that wasn't our job here on earth.
One last situation--I was at Old Navy shopping the extra 50% off clearance sale and I was browsing through the swimsuits which were running at 4 bucks a piece. I picked up a bikini, and looked at it for a little bit. I thought it was really cute! But I kept on looking for tankinis and one pieces. As I was looking at this bikini, a middle-aged woman said to her friend (very loudly) "Someone who so proudly shows their garments [I guess my garments were showing a bit out of the top of my shirt, I didn't know] shouldn't be wearing bikinis on the beach. She obviously doesn't realize what garments mean." Excuse me? I almost said something to this woman. Seriously. Even if I did wear bikinis on the beach and DIDN'T understand what garments were about, there is absolutely no reason to say that about anyone.
I've always been one of those hippie-minded "let's all be friends and hold hands" types but I don't usually speak out about it. It's just amazing to me how mean people are getting towards one another. It really makes me sick sometimes. I wish people could talk with one another objectively and considerately.
Maybe in the next life?
Don't get me wrong, I'm always up for a good debate, but it seems as if sometimes this Obama business can go so far as to almost ruin relationships! For instance, Tony posted a facebook status update that was posing a question about the health care proposal to extreme republicans who are just going nuts with this concept, who say Obama is Satan and things of the sort. I believe everyone has a right to free speech and if anyone likes a good debate--it's TONY, but his comment has ruffled the feathers of many of his family members. Ruffled them a lot. Tony's uncle now refers to him as his "favorite left-leaning nephew" and his grandpa is appauled that Tony is "behind this plan." Everyone in his family seems to think Tony is some sort of Satan worshipper, when he was just looking at ideas objectively and getting more opionions so he could form his own. He never once said he was 100% behind the health care reform. If anything he said he could see flaws in it. Even if Tony is a left-leaning Satan worshipper, what's it to you? I just don't get people sometimes and how mean they can get with this stuff. I realize it's important for our nation to choose the best thing for us, but when you start name-calling and judging because someone thinks a little differently than you....that is so not cool.
Aside from politics, I noticed a facebook status the other day commenting on a girl who was wearing a skirt that was a little short for BYU standards on campus. Yes, I signed the Honor Code agreement. Yes, she did too. I would probably raise an eyebrow to her outfit as well, but I don't think I would dedicate a facebook status to show my disgust for her dress and how she is not following the honor code. Talk about Holier Than Thou. I'm sure that girl is a really good person and maybe her skirt is a little short, but that doesn't give anyone any right to judge her. Last I checked, that wasn't our job here on earth.
One last situation--I was at Old Navy shopping the extra 50% off clearance sale and I was browsing through the swimsuits which were running at 4 bucks a piece. I picked up a bikini, and looked at it for a little bit. I thought it was really cute! But I kept on looking for tankinis and one pieces. As I was looking at this bikini, a middle-aged woman said to her friend (very loudly) "Someone who so proudly shows their garments [I guess my garments were showing a bit out of the top of my shirt, I didn't know] shouldn't be wearing bikinis on the beach. She obviously doesn't realize what garments mean." Excuse me? I almost said something to this woman. Seriously. Even if I did wear bikinis on the beach and DIDN'T understand what garments were about, there is absolutely no reason to say that about anyone.
I've always been one of those hippie-minded "let's all be friends and hold hands" types but I don't usually speak out about it. It's just amazing to me how mean people are getting towards one another. It really makes me sick sometimes. I wish people could talk with one another objectively and considerately.
Maybe in the next life?
8/6/09
Excitement
Recently I've found myself just plain excited. I can't put my finger on why I'm so giddy lately, but it feels really nice to be so excited about life. I seem to have much better days and not as many things bother me as before. I keep trying to figure out what I'm so excited about, and I can only thing of the following things to attribute my happiness to:
1. August 18th- our 3 year anniversary. Wow. I really love anniversaries because it's like a day set aside to just appreciate each other. Plus, it's another "na na na boo boo" that I've made it this far without a "surprise" baby. When I was engaged it bugged me so bad that everyone was like "you'll be a mom this time next year" so every anniversary is more proof that I'm responsible. :) Don't worry, I'm not anti-baby. I'm just anti-"right-now"-baby. That could change soon enough, so don't get your britches tangled! I do indeed want a family.
2. School starts August 31st! I know most people are dreading their first day of school, but I haven't been to actual classes on BYU's campus in...almost two years! With the Bulgaria internship last fall, and my deferrment mess this Winter semester, the last time I was in classes on campus was January of 2008. I'm really excited to start learning again and to FINISH learning! Yep, it's my final year at BYU. I'm not sure where I'll go from there, but we'll see, I guess!
3. Tony's birthday is September 6th. I love love love Tony's birthday because I get to buy him things he wants! I really love giving Tony gifts. Plus, I get stuff that I want all the time because he spoils me so it feels nice when Tony gets showered with some of his "wants" and not just his "needs". This year I want to have the big family party at our place, since it's big enough now. Yay!
4. My birthday is October 8th, but I don't care because October 15th we're going to Disneyland! We're little money savers and we're going to take a little trip to our honeymoon destination! I'm so excited for the hotel, the beaches, the Mickey Mouse (I never saw him last time) and everything else we're going to do in Anaheim! We've been talking about Disneyland a lot lately and we both agree that we will resist the temptation to ride the Peter Pan ride or any other of those dinky little princess rides. On our honeymoon we waited 2 hours in Peter Pan's line (we thought we should ride some classic rides) almost died of heat stroke and wasted two hours of our life for a tripped out ride that we probably should have been high on something to enjoy more. It was nice and cool in the ride, but definitely not worth a two hour wait. We're more excited for rides like Indiana Jones, The Tower of Terror, and Space Mountain, even though I almost threw up on Space Mountain. Indiana Jones is MY personal favorite and we rode it 5 times last time we were there. Yay Disneyland!
5. Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years. From about August to February we 've got something exciting once a month! Thanksgiving this year will be okay, it will just be Tony and me because Tony's family is going to San Fransisco to be with Carleigh this Thanksgiving. We could go other places, I'm sure, but we're kind of looking forward to making our own feast.
Christmas will be spend in Indiana if all goes according to plan. We haven't been there on Christmas day in two years. Last year we planned on it, but my family wanted us to come out for Andrea's graduation in May plus we had been traveling madmen with Bulgaria. So, that should be fun.
Sorry to go on about all of this, but I just love this excited feeling I have!
1. August 18th- our 3 year anniversary. Wow. I really love anniversaries because it's like a day set aside to just appreciate each other. Plus, it's another "na na na boo boo" that I've made it this far without a "surprise" baby. When I was engaged it bugged me so bad that everyone was like "you'll be a mom this time next year" so every anniversary is more proof that I'm responsible. :) Don't worry, I'm not anti-baby. I'm just anti-"right-now"-baby. That could change soon enough, so don't get your britches tangled! I do indeed want a family.
2. School starts August 31st! I know most people are dreading their first day of school, but I haven't been to actual classes on BYU's campus in...almost two years! With the Bulgaria internship last fall, and my deferrment mess this Winter semester, the last time I was in classes on campus was January of 2008. I'm really excited to start learning again and to FINISH learning! Yep, it's my final year at BYU. I'm not sure where I'll go from there, but we'll see, I guess!
3. Tony's birthday is September 6th. I love love love Tony's birthday because I get to buy him things he wants! I really love giving Tony gifts. Plus, I get stuff that I want all the time because he spoils me so it feels nice when Tony gets showered with some of his "wants" and not just his "needs". This year I want to have the big family party at our place, since it's big enough now. Yay!
4. My birthday is October 8th, but I don't care because October 15th we're going to Disneyland! We're little money savers and we're going to take a little trip to our honeymoon destination! I'm so excited for the hotel, the beaches, the Mickey Mouse (I never saw him last time) and everything else we're going to do in Anaheim! We've been talking about Disneyland a lot lately and we both agree that we will resist the temptation to ride the Peter Pan ride or any other of those dinky little princess rides. On our honeymoon we waited 2 hours in Peter Pan's line (we thought we should ride some classic rides) almost died of heat stroke and wasted two hours of our life for a tripped out ride that we probably should have been high on something to enjoy more. It was nice and cool in the ride, but definitely not worth a two hour wait. We're more excited for rides like Indiana Jones, The Tower of Terror, and Space Mountain, even though I almost threw up on Space Mountain. Indiana Jones is MY personal favorite and we rode it 5 times last time we were there. Yay Disneyland!
5. Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years. From about August to February we 've got something exciting once a month! Thanksgiving this year will be okay, it will just be Tony and me because Tony's family is going to San Fransisco to be with Carleigh this Thanksgiving. We could go other places, I'm sure, but we're kind of looking forward to making our own feast.
Christmas will be spend in Indiana if all goes according to plan. We haven't been there on Christmas day in two years. Last year we planned on it, but my family wanted us to come out for Andrea's graduation in May plus we had been traveling madmen with Bulgaria. So, that should be fun.
Sorry to go on about all of this, but I just love this excited feeling I have!
7/28/09
Wonderful Muffins!
I have been trying to eat really well recently by trying to eat very nautral foods. I made some blueberry bran muffins tonight that are simply amazing and don't have any sugar in them! The sweetness comes from the honey and banana. I was amazed at how yummy they tasted!
I thought I would share the recipe so that you guys can try them out!
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups unprocessed wheat bran or oat bran (I just used wheat bran cereal)
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 tablespoons ground flaxseed (I'm not sure if mine was ground or not, but it was still good!)
1 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup fat-free milk
1/3 cup honey
1 ripe medium banana, mahed with a fork
1 large egg
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup fresh blueberries
Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lightly coat 2 nonstick mini muffin pans with cooking spray.
In a medium bowl, combine bran, flour, flaxseed, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside. In another bowl or a blender, combine the milk, honey, banana, egg, olive oil, and vanilla extract until smooth.
Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in one third of the liquid mixture. Using a spoon, stir until smooth. Add the remaining liquid mixture and stir just until combined. Add the blueberries and stir again, but don't overmix.
Spoon 1 tablespoon of batter into each prepared muffin cup. Bake for about 8 minutes, or until the tops spring back when pressed gently in the centers. Do not overbake! Cool the muffins in the pan on a rack for 10 minutes before removing from the cups. Serve warm, or allow to cool completely on rack.
These freeze really well, also.
I thought I would share the recipe so that you guys can try them out!
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups unprocessed wheat bran or oat bran (I just used wheat bran cereal)
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 tablespoons ground flaxseed (I'm not sure if mine was ground or not, but it was still good!)
1 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup fat-free milk
1/3 cup honey
1 ripe medium banana, mahed with a fork
1 large egg
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup fresh blueberries
Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lightly coat 2 nonstick mini muffin pans with cooking spray.
In a medium bowl, combine bran, flour, flaxseed, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside. In another bowl or a blender, combine the milk, honey, banana, egg, olive oil, and vanilla extract until smooth.
Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in one third of the liquid mixture. Using a spoon, stir until smooth. Add the remaining liquid mixture and stir just until combined. Add the blueberries and stir again, but don't overmix.
Spoon 1 tablespoon of batter into each prepared muffin cup. Bake for about 8 minutes, or until the tops spring back when pressed gently in the centers. Do not overbake! Cool the muffins in the pan on a rack for 10 minutes before removing from the cups. Serve warm, or allow to cool completely on rack.
These freeze really well, also.
7/25/09
Almost Pretty
Yesterday at work I was driving the little girl I nanny to some "foam party" thrown by the Lehi Fire Department and she said something that just cracked me up:
Gracie: Hollie, you're kinda pretty!
Me: Well, thanks, Gracie! I think you're pretty, too.
Gracie: Hmmm, do you want to know why you're KINDA pretty?
Me: Sure, why not, let's boost my self esteem a little.
Gracie: Well, the thing is, your blonde hair doesn't curl like mine does. When your hair is curled it's all tight and scrunchy. My blonde hair is big and not scrunchy curls. Maybe one day your hair will be curled like mine and then you can be all the way pretty.
Wow. Good to know. I didn't realize the fashion sense this 3-year-old had hidden in her! I'll have to buy some product and curling irons so that I, too, can one day be pretty...all the way pretty. :)
Gracie: Hollie, you're kinda pretty!
Me: Well, thanks, Gracie! I think you're pretty, too.
Gracie: Hmmm, do you want to know why you're KINDA pretty?
Me: Sure, why not, let's boost my self esteem a little.
Gracie: Well, the thing is, your blonde hair doesn't curl like mine does. When your hair is curled it's all tight and scrunchy. My blonde hair is big and not scrunchy curls. Maybe one day your hair will be curled like mine and then you can be all the way pretty.
Wow. Good to know. I didn't realize the fashion sense this 3-year-old had hidden in her! I'll have to buy some product and curling irons so that I, too, can one day be pretty...all the way pretty. :)
7/19/09
Long Time, No Blog!
Sorry about the lack of blogging lately. I have been really busy lately planning a baby shower, going to family events, and things of that sort.
Let me begin by telling you all about our magnificent hike! We started at the trailhead at 6:45 am last Saturday so that we would have plenty of time to complete our monster hike. We were taking a trail called Jacob's Ladder which is notorious for being insanely steep and horribly rocky and slippery. It sure lived up to it's reputation. I was slipping all over the place and I was covered in dirt by the time we finished "the ladder." After the ladder there was a hill sort of thing we had to get over and it seemed to take a lifetime to get there. We had to take a stop under a nearby tree on this portion while it poured down rain. Luckily this only lasted for about 3 minutes. After we got over that stinkin' hill, the hike was easy cheesy! I was skipping through meadows and playing in rivers. The weather was nice and cool and the trail was FLAT. I felt so great!
A little after this point in the hike you kind of lose the trail and have to begin following cairns (little rock piles carefully made to tell you which direction to go). We thought we were totally following the cairns then suddenly...no more cairns. We couldn't find a rock pile anywhere! We wandered around for a bit and Tony even climbed over some tall rocks to see what he could see. We decided to go down to the river and follow it back to the last cairn we saw. We successfully retraced our footsteps and somehow got lost...again. So, we retraced once more, and found a trail, finally! Only to find out the the trail actually took us DOWNhill...the opposite way we were going. Frustrated and disappointed, we stopped and ate our lunch. We felt kind of dumb until we heard on the news just a couple days ago that two hikers got lost when they lost the Jacob's Ladder trail on Lone Peak. So, we're not the only ones!
We had fun watching the deer prance through the meadows, and we even saw a badger! I, unfortunately, made friends with a fat squirrel when I was "using the facilities" in the wilderness.
After lunch, we decided it was too dangerous to keep wandering around because it was about 2pm and we wouldn't make it back before dark. So, after trying so hard to reach the summit, we turned around and headed back down the mountain.
(there is a church talk in this somewhere, I'm sure...this is not copyrighted, feel free.)
We met up with some mountain man who told us we lost the trail like a MILE back from where we were! What the? We weren't really sure how we did that but we shrugged our shoulders and braced ourselves for what we knew was ahead...going DOWN Jacob's Ladder. I was cranky and hot and not in the mood to fall on my butt the whole way down so I grabbed on to Tony's pack and held on for dear life. We made it down the Ladder and celebrated when we saw the sign indicating the end. We were sure we were so close to the car that we would be there in 10 minutes or less. About half an hour later, we hit a dead end. We somehow took a wrong turn and ended up on an ATV trail. I was ticked...so ticked. My feet hurt, I was sunburnt, and I had already been lost enough for all the hikers on the mountain that day. I told Tony that if we got lost again, I wasn't going to be able to make it. I was running out of energy fast and if we didn't get to the car soon, I'd have to stop for a pretty lengthy break.
We found our trail and made it back to the car! We stopped at McDonald's and got some yummy food (there was no way I was cooking dinner) and rested the rest of the night. Too bad all that night and the whole next Sunday my knees were literally not working. I couldn't move. BUT--at least I didn't get attacked by fire ants and stung by stinging nettle 500 times like our last hike.
It was a really fun experience, and one day we are going to try to hike it again and get to the summit, but I'm not sure either of wants to anytime soon. We are planning our first camping trip for next weekend-ish. I've never been so we're going to a campsite to test out our "gear" and make sure I can hack it. If that works out, we might just do Lone Peak in two days so that we don't get any cranky Hollies. Those are not nice creatures at all.
Let me begin by telling you all about our magnificent hike! We started at the trailhead at 6:45 am last Saturday so that we would have plenty of time to complete our monster hike. We were taking a trail called Jacob's Ladder which is notorious for being insanely steep and horribly rocky and slippery. It sure lived up to it's reputation. I was slipping all over the place and I was covered in dirt by the time we finished "the ladder." After the ladder there was a hill sort of thing we had to get over and it seemed to take a lifetime to get there. We had to take a stop under a nearby tree on this portion while it poured down rain. Luckily this only lasted for about 3 minutes. After we got over that stinkin' hill, the hike was easy cheesy! I was skipping through meadows and playing in rivers. The weather was nice and cool and the trail was FLAT. I felt so great!
A little after this point in the hike you kind of lose the trail and have to begin following cairns (little rock piles carefully made to tell you which direction to go). We thought we were totally following the cairns then suddenly...no more cairns. We couldn't find a rock pile anywhere! We wandered around for a bit and Tony even climbed over some tall rocks to see what he could see. We decided to go down to the river and follow it back to the last cairn we saw. We successfully retraced our footsteps and somehow got lost...again. So, we retraced once more, and found a trail, finally! Only to find out the the trail actually took us DOWNhill...the opposite way we were going. Frustrated and disappointed, we stopped and ate our lunch. We felt kind of dumb until we heard on the news just a couple days ago that two hikers got lost when they lost the Jacob's Ladder trail on Lone Peak. So, we're not the only ones!
We had fun watching the deer prance through the meadows, and we even saw a badger! I, unfortunately, made friends with a fat squirrel when I was "using the facilities" in the wilderness.
After lunch, we decided it was too dangerous to keep wandering around because it was about 2pm and we wouldn't make it back before dark. So, after trying so hard to reach the summit, we turned around and headed back down the mountain.
(there is a church talk in this somewhere, I'm sure...this is not copyrighted, feel free.)
We met up with some mountain man who told us we lost the trail like a MILE back from where we were! What the? We weren't really sure how we did that but we shrugged our shoulders and braced ourselves for what we knew was ahead...going DOWN Jacob's Ladder. I was cranky and hot and not in the mood to fall on my butt the whole way down so I grabbed on to Tony's pack and held on for dear life. We made it down the Ladder and celebrated when we saw the sign indicating the end. We were sure we were so close to the car that we would be there in 10 minutes or less. About half an hour later, we hit a dead end. We somehow took a wrong turn and ended up on an ATV trail. I was ticked...so ticked. My feet hurt, I was sunburnt, and I had already been lost enough for all the hikers on the mountain that day. I told Tony that if we got lost again, I wasn't going to be able to make it. I was running out of energy fast and if we didn't get to the car soon, I'd have to stop for a pretty lengthy break.
We found our trail and made it back to the car! We stopped at McDonald's and got some yummy food (there was no way I was cooking dinner) and rested the rest of the night. Too bad all that night and the whole next Sunday my knees were literally not working. I couldn't move. BUT--at least I didn't get attacked by fire ants and stung by stinging nettle 500 times like our last hike.
It was a really fun experience, and one day we are going to try to hike it again and get to the summit, but I'm not sure either of wants to anytime soon. We are planning our first camping trip for next weekend-ish. I've never been so we're going to a campsite to test out our "gear" and make sure I can hack it. If that works out, we might just do Lone Peak in two days so that we don't get any cranky Hollies. Those are not nice creatures at all.
7/10/09
To the Top of the World!
Tomorrow Tony and I are hiking Lone Peak. I'm sure some of you have been on this hike (probably with Tony). I'm writing about this particular hike ahead of time because I am a little nervous about it. Tony's told me stories of climbing over boulders with thousands of feet to drop on either side, about how you get dizzy at the top, the fact that it's 13 MILES LONG.
I am, however, really excited for the hike as well. It will totally test my fitness level and it will be a fun day activity....all day activity. We'll be hiking (with rests and lunch breaks) for about 12 hours. Plus, 13 miles is a half marathon basically, so if I can do it up a mountain, I can for sure do it jogging lightly on the ground! ;)
I'm about to head to the store to get some food and other supplies we need for the hike tomorrow. We have to wake up at 6:00am to start the day. Wooooooo hoo.
In other news, the little boy I nanny said to me as I was walking out the door to go home today, "bye, Hollie! I love you!" What the? It was nice because today I was REALLY tired and kind of irritable but the kids helped me get in a better mood and the fact that he told me he loved me made me feel like I am doing something worthwhile for my job right now.
I am, however, really excited for the hike as well. It will totally test my fitness level and it will be a fun day activity....all day activity. We'll be hiking (with rests and lunch breaks) for about 12 hours. Plus, 13 miles is a half marathon basically, so if I can do it up a mountain, I can for sure do it jogging lightly on the ground! ;)
I'm about to head to the store to get some food and other supplies we need for the hike tomorrow. We have to wake up at 6:00am to start the day. Wooooooo hoo.
In other news, the little boy I nanny said to me as I was walking out the door to go home today, "bye, Hollie! I love you!" What the? It was nice because today I was REALLY tired and kind of irritable but the kids helped me get in a better mood and the fact that he told me he loved me made me feel like I am doing something worthwhile for my job right now.
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