Food Therapy

Throughout History, the pineapple has been used as a symbol to express the sense of welcome, good cheer and human warmth.


January in Connecticut looks like the lone and dreary world that you see below...


unlike the Pineapple, this first month of the year for me is NOT welcome! I'm officially ready to say goodbye to the winter blues. Instead of seeking out self help books or medicating myself for depression I decided to take this bull by the horns and cook my toes off. Cooking is the only therapy I need. There are the obvious instant gratification benefits of cooking but because I am a sensory person I also find relaxation in chopping vegetables and I think the home feels cozy when I smell a chicken roasting. It's okay, you can call me a food geek if you want to.



I've also found that have this nagging need to be creative and for life to be full of pretty colors and delicious accessories. Enter...salads and flowers. Salads first.


Yesterday I tried this new salad with roasted mushrooms, cherry tomatoes and baby mozzerella on a bed of arugula with truffle oil and balslamic vinegar for the dressing. I savored every single bite!



To make my living space more desirable I bought perfect plum purple tulips. Having fresh flowers in the house lessens my distaste for winter and gets me pumped for Spring. Warm weather, frisbee and rollerblading can't come soon enough. But if you are like me and share my sentiment about winter (meaning you really could go without it with the exeption of snow on Christmas morning, I highly suggest you try this new form of therapy I invented. Just a couple more months of cooking my toes off and finding deals on fresh flowers to arrange in the house!

Remember the 80's?

Watch This...I remember EVERYTHING...I kinda miss those days!

Faith, Hope, Prayer and Miracles

For those of you who do not share the same religion as I, don't tune out just yet. This blog is for all of my friends and family and applies to persons of all faiths. These are priniples that I believe in firmly. In the past month I have experienced each principle and it's power first hand.

I find that these four principles are interconnected. Faith Brings Hope, Hope brings Faith, Prayer brings both, and eventually through Faith, Hope and Prayer, Miracles occur. After the miracle, more hope, more faith, and prayer of thanks are offered. Atleast this is how the process works for me.

Faith is the belief in things which we can not see. There are times in our lives when we feel discouraged, we lose hope. Some miracles seem impossible. We feel unworthy of prayer. I have felt this way many times. There are things in our lives where we can not see the outcome. There are times when it seems easier just to give up on our creator, whom I refer to as my Heavenly Father. However, he did make us in his own image. He knows our feelings. He wants us to come to him with our sorrows, our worries, our discouragement becuase He cares for us and wants to help us become more like him through the process. They only way we can do that is to have faith. To believe without knowing what is going to happen. To have hope when there is no hope.

Communication with a higher being, Our Heavenly Father, or God comes through prayer. Because of a number of experiences throughout my lifetime and especially in the past month that are too personal to share on a blog, I believe that Heavenly Father really does hear our prayers and blesses us according to our faith. If we lack faith and hope how can we expect His blessings, His tender mercies, His miracles. That's like asking for a good grade in school when we haven't studied, haven't learned anything. Just as we can not ask for a grade we haven't put effort into from a proffesor, it is not fair to expect faithless miracles from God. However, I do believe God is more merciful. I know He is.

I want to express my gratitude to Heavenly Father for his mercy and his blessings in all of our lives. I know that he knows me better than I know myself and with continued Faith, Hope and Prayer I can trust that he will bring Miracles each day. It has been suggested that we write these daily miracles down, so that we can remember them and in turn our faith will increase and our hope will come easily. I intend to do so. I testify to these principles and I hope that those reading this blog have had the opportunity to experience something similar. We are ALL his children and we are all entitled to Miracles.

How I'm Eating An Elephant 0r Um 2008... One Bite at a Time

At the begining of every new year I make lists. Lists of goals or resolutions. I put them in catergories (spiritual, physical, social, proffesional, personal). I hate to admit it but I am a little obsessive about this, or have been in the past. I have so many ideas and goals and dreams floating around in my head all the time, so many things that I wish I could be or want out of life. Until..this year! I have decided to make 2008 simple. I didn't make my lists this year. It feels good, more carefree, more relaxed. I can honestly say I don't miss having a list. Making New Years Resolutions was always something I assumed needed to be done. I am realizing that I can still have the things I want and Holly isn't going to fall apart, just because I don't have my lists. In fact, in most of the areas I have categorized for years I feel I'm doing quite well. Granted we are only three weeks into the New Year, but seriously...it feels awesome to just kind of go with it. So that's it...I've decided to take 2008 and maybe every year afterwards, one bite at a time!

Note: I love elephants with all my heart. They are powerful, loyal, majestic, graceful, and loving and they never forget anything (so they must be pretty organized hey). If I were going to make one resolution this year it would be to grow up and be like an elephant.

The Best of 2007

I can't believe the year is over! Now on to new resolutions and starting over (I made a ton of them and so far I've already faltered on three of them). 2007 was a wonderful year for me full of lots of travels, friends, work, making mistakes and learning from them and enjoying life as a 27 year old menace. There are many things that made this 7th year of 2000 fantastic and below I've highlighted just a few.

Best Books
Eclipse and Eat Pray Love. I read them both in a week and consider it one of my favorite weeks of the year!



Best Movies
No Reservations, go see it and if you know me it won't be difficult to guess why I loved it. Juno had a very different kind of humor but interesting story line and nice dialogue. August Rush was one of those movies I walked out and felt empowered from, I downloaded the soundtrack to iTUNES as soon as I got home.




Best Advice
Never Make Assumptions

Best City I Visited
Ah London. I loved everything about London. The Red phone booths, the fish and chips, the taxi's and the British cab drivers, the parks, swans, Buckingham Palace, the Ferris Wheel, the words that are used there, like "cheerio"-such a fun word, Big Ben, The London Bridge...there was just so much to see!


Best Gift
My employers gave me this Little Giraffe Bathrobe in red. I live in this thing! Seriously the second I get off work and back from my run I put this robe on and jump in bed and read books. Love it!


Best Purchase
This shirt from REI has saved my life this winter. Running in New England in December and January outside is not my idea of a good time, but it had to be done so I purchased this shirt which is wick away fleece on the inside, a windbreaker on the outside. It even holds my iPOD on the arm pocket so I can listen to my tuns and run hands free.


Best Song
"Everything" by Micheal Buble

Warning: Not Suitable for a Sensative Palate!

So my employer Lloyd and I kicked off 2008 with this new excercise diet. WHY? Why do we do this to ourselves? He is working with a trainer and I have roped myself into running The Great Wall of China Marathon in May. Both of us were told to eat things like fish pills, multi-vitamins and protein shakes. Yuck! The Protein Shakes are killing me! They taste aweful and I am supposed to have atleast one full one a day to prevent snacking, yeah right! I'm forcing even half of one down...I've added banana, ice and peanut butter but nothing seems to suffice. If anyone has suggestions for how to get them down aside from injecting a feeding tube please by all means share!

Tag, You're It!

I was tagged like three and a half times so finally I'm getting you all back!

Here are the rules:
1. Link to the person that tagged you, and post the rules on your blog.
2. Share 7 random and/or weird facts about yourself.
3. Tag 7 random people at the end of your post, and include links to their blogs.
4. Let each person know that they’ve been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

I'm not this totally mysterious person, so most of you will probably know these things about me.

1. I wish I had long thick hair. Seriously, my hair grows overly slow (I think) and when it finally does reach that past the shoulder point it's just unhealthy. How I envy my cousins ans sisters for their lucious locks!

2. I am a really annoying person to go to restaurants with because if I really like my meal I will tune my company out to try to figure out what is in it and make it at home.

3. I love to go fast! Roller Coasters, Boats, Cars, Planes, Skiing, Blading, Ice-Skating, you name it...the more fast, the better!

4. I love movies but when I watch them at home I am lucky to make it through the credits without falling asleep. When the lights go out and I am cozy on the couch somehow all the sleep I haven't had catches up with me and my eyes are shut before the show even starts.

5. I have always wanted to go to India to see the Taj Mahal, but will only travel there with the man that I marry since the story of the palace is one of the most beautiful love stories that I've heard. That's REALLY cheesy, but true.

6. I dislike text messaging. Maybe because I haven't mastered the art of it yet or because I rather hear a voice and think it's quicker to just call someone. It does have international advantages, but other than that I rather someone just call.

7. There are a lot of things that I sort of do that I wish I did well. I sort of can play the piano and the guitar, I sort of know how to draw, I sort of can write a decent poem and I'm sort of good at frisbee etc. I'll have to just keep on trying, but where's the time to practice?

Okay that's it! Ashley Aguirre, Ashley Lawrence, Elizabeth, Jai, Levi, Ruby, Veronica and Wendy...Tag...you're it!

Famous Dave!

Uncle Dave is amazing at so many things, but he's particularly famous for his after dessert treats! The Harris Family Nativity Sing-A-Long this year was no exception. He has brought Twizzlers licorice to every family function in a variety of flavors since the 90's. Wow, did I just say 90's?. Strawberry, Cherry, Chocolate and Black. But this year...he went WAY overboard and busted out the "Extra Long" Twizzlers. They had the whole family oohing and ahhing and once open, they were gone in seconds. Uncle Dave, your a star! We love you and love that you bring licorice to our lives!

Home For The Holidays!

There's no place like home for the holidays!I had an amazing trip to Salt Lake this weekend! It was jam packed with Temple Square, Lights, Concerts, Sledding, Parties, Friends and Family and of course everything revolved around Christmas. Music and the Spoken Word at The Confrence Center, The Girls Party and the Annual Harris Family Nativity Sing-a-Long, and sledding were definatly the highlights!

I had the opportunity to bring my friend Lesego Makhubela from South Africa with me. We met at church my first time in Pretoria in 2004. He's been an amazing friend to me since and has been my personal tour guide each time I've returned. It was fun to show him the church sites and to have him meet my family. He probably thinks we're weirdos cause we have some crazy traditions. How many families do you know who alter Elmo masks into Wise Men Costumes? Thanks for comin' Lesego! Le a go rata!

Below are pics that highlight my trip!

Legs!

I went to see the Rockettes at Radio City Music Hall with Jessica last week! My mouth is still hanging wide open in awe at how these ladies can kick like that in high heels. I even tried it at home in my room. K, that's embarrasing! Anywhoo, The frolicking feathard females are actually very talented and I enjoyed the show! The Rockettes are part of New York and so is their "Christmas Spectular Show". Thanks Jess for coming with me and getting the tickets. Next year maybe we can try out!

Plastic Death!

I've had a smile plastered on my face (as well as a really sore rear end) since Saturday! Several years ago we started a tradition of going sledding up Parleys Canyon. Instant Gratification is plentiful in this stellar sport. This years ever popular sled-the Saucer! The benefit to the saucer is in the spinning. No matter which angle you pick to start out on, you are bound to end up backwards. We tried several formations and chains this year including the "V" and the arm-linked circle. The highlight was definatly Camille hitting the barrel of hay, sending Aaron flying off the sled and the rest of us landing on top of each other. Or was that after the monsterous jump? In any event, sledding is pure bliss!

Girls Just Want to Have Fun and Eat Cupcakes!

I have missed my friend's from Salt Lake more than toilet paper on a camping trip, more than popcorn without butter-and that's a lot! I love planning parties (seriously, I would have one every weekend if time allowed) so naturally on my trip home, my college friends and I got together on Saturday for a Christmas Party at my Mom's House.


Chocolate Peppermint Cup Cakes-My favorite!

Recently I decided that I needed a signature food that I bring or make for parties. I've officially decided on Giant Cupcakes. I ordered the pan for them on-line. I'm not ambitious enough (or rather don't have time) to make the batter from scratch, but Betty Crocker comes through for me flawlessly everytime. Kevin, my super nice brother-in-law crushed candy canes with a hammer and my mom made the frosting this time, cause she makes the BEST butter cream frosting. Thanks for all your help Mom, you rock!


The MOST Amazing Women in the Universe!


Cedar, Jackson, Annie, Amelia, Eli and Lucy-So Delicious!


The Menaces (If you are going to be a menace, you should be as cool as we are!)

Mostly, I just want to pay tribute to my girlfriends and thier delicious babes. Seriously, I have the most unachievably talented, most beautiful, graceful, lovely, intelligent girlfriends in the world and I don't even know why I'm privleged enough to hang out with them. Elizabeth, Jacey, Becky, Julie, Camille, Cary Ann, Jessica, Ashley, Shelly, Mindy, Wendy, and Krist-it was so fun to play catch up with you and see your adorable kids. Those of you who are mom's, you inspire me. My sensational friends who are menaces like myself...no one is worthy! I love your guts!


Who doesn't love a cute gift bag?

Christmas in the City!

City Sidewalks, Pretty Sidewalks...Manhattan is such a magical place to be in December! 5th Avenue becomes a mecca for tourists who like to shop. Although I have to say that I never shop there because everything on 5th avenue costs a pretty penny, and let's be honest, nannies are not that rich. However, the window shopping is delightful. The window displays are simply amazing at this time of year, I think the stores even compete for a prize. I love the carriage rides and ice skating in Central Park.







My most favorite thing in New York at Christmas is Rockerfellar Center's famous Christmas Tree. Year after year, the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree appears as surely as December, and Christmas in New York wouldn't be the same if it didn't. In a city of superlatives, it is the biggest, brightest, most famous Christmas tree of them all; as venerable and beloved a tradition as the World Series, Fourth of July fireworks and New Year's Eve celebrations.

It is, quite simply, a crowd-stopper. Skaters swirl beneath its branches and shoppers stop to stare. Carolers serenade beside its branches, their voices climbing to the shining star on top, and sightseers are held rapt by the thousands of lights that blanket its limbs, glistening like fresh snow in the moonlight.

America has celebrated Christmas around the Rockefeller Center Tree since 1931. Below you will find a pic of the 2007 tree. I love it. Christmas in New York wouldn't be Christmas without it.



I heart Christmas, and I heart this city at Christmas Time!

Hanukkah-Festival of Lights!

The Menorah on the First Night of Hannukah. The middle is called the Shamash and is used to light the other candles.


Potato Latkes, served with Sour Cream and Apple Sauce. So Yummy!


Dreidels and Chocolate Gelt

Since I live and work in a Jewish Home I wanted to share a little bit about the holiday we've been celebrating this past week. Hanukkah started on Tuesday evening and lasts 8 nights.

Here's a little background. Long ago, King Antiochus and the Syrians ruled over the land of Israel. The king tried to force the Jews to give up their religion. He seized the Temple and put out the great seven-branched menorah. But the Jews, led by Judah Maccabee fought back and won a long battle against the wicked king. The Jews cleaned the Temple and made it beautiful again. Then they tried to light the lamp. But there was only enough olive oil to light the lamp for one day. A miracle happened, and the oil lasted for eight days. This gave the Jews enough time to make more oil. This is why Hanukkah is referred to as the "Festival of Lights".

It's been a unique opportunity to celebrate with the cute family I nanny for. We made Latkes (potato pancakes) on Tuesday evening and lit the menorah and the kids taught me how to play dreidel. Since there are eight nights of Hanukkah we recieve and give a gift for each of the eight nights. Now you know where my salary goes at the end of the year. I've loved the gift giving though and each year I try to make something so it's a little more personal. Last year I had my mom make blankets...This year I was a little more ambitious and made a scrapbook of all our fun nanny outings. Pretty much I'm married to my job...but it's cool!


A peek at my Hanukkah gift!

Private Chef Gig

I finally got the chance to do what I've been waiting for...cook for private parties! I had an absolute blast planning, preparing and even eating the meal. I cooked for 8 people which was perfect! I didn't even know what to charge for this type of thing since I haven't had chef training...yet.
I served Teriyaki Salmon over Coconut Rice with Asparagus and a wild Musroom Sherry Sauce. Yes, LDS friends...I cook with alchohol sometimes! It burns off! The coconut rice was my personal favorite-sweet, rich, and filling! It complimented the salmon nicely. I'm still mastering the garnishing and some of my sauces but for the most part it turned out to my expectations. The next step...cooking my way out of the nanny world and into the food world! Bon Apetit!