perspective

The Sacred Grove

This week I had the privelage of traveling up to Palmyra to see the Hill Cumorah Pageant and the Sacred Grove. It was fun to travel with members of my ward and amazing to be in the place where the restoration of the Gospel began. I was moved by the simpleness of the Smith Farmhouse, the beauty of the Sacred Grove and the perspective the Hill Cumorah Pageant offered. Some experiences from this weekend are too personal to share in a blog, but being able to ponder a bit in such a sacred place definatly put some things into perspective and at the risk of sounding cliche I have a renewed sense of direction. The trip was also full of fun stories, some of which are documented in these pictures. This was my last trip with my ward here in Connecticut so the meeting yesterday proved to be bittersweet. But, I am excited for what lies ahead for me in South Africa and I know my experiences there will be equally rich.
Ready to Roll!
Taking A Break
The Whitmer Farm House
We drove a half hour out of our way to reach Chase Farm where a missionary told us the best milkshakes in town were sold...
The missionary was right! Check out the size of those raspberries!
Enjoying our shakes at the Book of Mormon publication site!
Even rode a pink tractor. (so random)And got a little lost (even more random)
This is in front of Joseph Smith's home in Palmyra. It is small and simple, but has a sweet spirit about it. I loved just being in the place where it all began.
The LDS Temple in Palmyra, so beatiful!
Some ward buddies and I waiting for the Hill Cumorah Pageant to Begin
None of my pictures do justice of the stage, costumes or performance of the pageant, but I thought I'd throw one in here anyway.
I love this picture. It was taken in the Smith Farmhouse. To me it represents the simplicity of the gospel and the light that it brings to my life and so many others. I am so grateful to the Smith's for thier perserverance in bringing this light to the world.
A renewed Holly. Can you see the glow? (er, um...I mean how much I was sweating maybe) but either way, this was a meaningful trip for me and I am so grateful I had the opportunity.

We also had the opportunity to visit Niagra Falls in Canada. Although we didn't get the clearest pictures due to the spray of the waterfall and the grey skies, it was still quite breathtaking. I sort of have a thing for large waterfalls and hope to see many more in the world. To me, they are the very proof that God exists.Niagra Falls, Canada
Beautiful View of the Falls
Soaking wet, but in my prime! After a crazy journey, we were finally ready to head home!

if life gives you lemons...

Make lemon bars? I'll be honest, this hasn't been my favorite week. It's been a tough one and I can't wait for it to be over. Last weekend we told the kids I nanny for that I would be moving to South Africa at the end of the summer. This didn't go over well. Madeline told me that I broke her heart. Maxwell told me that he wasn't going to talk to me for the rest of the summer (and he really kinda hasn't). The mom I work for went into panic/paranoia/organization mode this week and mind you all three kids are home for the week before camp starts. I've run a thousand errands, organized the playroom, cleaned out closets, broke up several sibling rivalry fight, supervised playdates, baked, got beat at chess twice by a seven year old, lost three times in a row in a battle against Max in guitar hero, swam in the pool 7 times and counting, potty trained Marshall (well, sort of), and planned the menu for the pool party this weekend. I'm totally hammered.

I am absolutely going to admit that at these times when I am stressed I get sucked into emotional eating, and hence...emotional baking. So in the midst of all this, I decided to try yet another Ina Garten (Barefoot Contessa) recipe. This woman is genious and the lemon bars are SO delicious. To get the recipe, visit my recipe blog at http://savorysauce.blogspot.com. These tart sugary delights are almost gone and I feel much much better now. :)

Disclaimer: This post is not to take away from what my amazing mommy friends go through every day, all the time. I just wish they were my own kids so I could discipline them the way I want to. I do love Max, Mad and Marsh and will miss them dearly when I leave.

where's mr. darcy?

I spent the past ten days at Bovey Castle in the brilliant English Countryside. It's possible that this much time away from technoligy and too many afternoons spent drinking tea and eating scones with clotted cream sent me into Pride and Predjudice mode, but as I walked around I couldn't help but wait for Mr. Darcy to come walking down the path at any given moment. Maybe just wishful thinking? It's true that single women really shouldn't watch shows like Emma and Pride and Predjudice because your expectations of men suddenly become unachievable. I mean, what woman doesn't want a gentleman with an accent who says things like, "You have bewitched me body and soul and I love...I love you and wish to be a part of you from this day forward". Sigh. Well...that didn't happen while I was in England but here are some photos of this beautiful country anyway. Love the sheep. They just hang out there in the middle of the road like they own the place. I guess it's thier right hey.

thailand

This pretty much sums up how I feel about Thailand in an nutshell, but below I will share some stories on what has been probably one of my favorite vacations ever. Thailand is the land of paradise, relaxation, great food, beaches, nice people, beautiful Temples, and Adventure. What more could anyone want out of a vacation? Not to mention everything is so reasonably priced in Thailand. Pure Bliss!
I have always wanted to Parasail and I finally got my chance. It really does feel like you are flying over the water. Loved every second of it!
Riding an Elephant has been a dream of mine for like forever. I could have spent all day at this elephant park. These animals are my favorite and I think they are truely amazing.
Contrary to the elephant I give you, the giant cockroach. Yep, right in our hut on Phi Phi Island and he brought friends. We named him Henry. Yuck! Just imagine three girls screaming at the top of their lungs all frozen on the matress for protection. You can picture the scene I am sure. Kind of hilarious now that I think about it, but at the time we were mortified. We all slept on the same matress with the lights on because Christine mentioned that these bugs like the dark. We weren't taking any chances.
And here we method number one to get rid of Henry the Cockroach. Camille came up with a tampon and a Pringles can. Pretty creative and it worked! We scooped him in an viola...threw him out and slammed the door shut. That was all great til we lifted the suitcases and found three more. Only slept two hours that night.
Don't be turned off by the name of this bakery. I walked in, ordered and experienced an oasis in my mouth. A perfect pineapple pancake, three doughnut holes, and a mango smoothie. Marathon was over so who cares about dieting right?
This is the most relaxed I've been all year. Never wanted to leave!
I think I should have been born on an island. This is me on the boat and I was in heaven!
Need I even say anything about this pic...just enjoy it.
This is a visual of the liquid delight we experienced with every meal and inbetween meals. We must have tried every flavor of these smoothies and don't you just love how the Thai's make them so pretty?
Can you tell how rediculously hot outside it was in Bangkok from this pic? It was taken at The Grand Palace.
This is where we wish we stayed. We walked a long the beach and found this little paradise resort. We did have breakfast here so the manager let us use the pools. So nice!
Can't get enough of these elephants.
James Bond Island
Climbing the Caves on James Bond Island was so much fun. It's been a while since I've had the chance to just be adventurous. I loved it.
Just hanging out at the hut (pre Henry the cock roach episode)
How often do you get to just collect coconuts on the beach? I mean really.

The Grand Palace in Bangkok. This is such an amazing place. It was quite a site to see these temples made of gold and mirrors and tiny little tiles. Every detail was exquisite.
I went snorkleing for the first time and I fell in love with the fish. I could of spent hours in that ocean.
Does anyone watch LOST? Go to Phi Phi Island and you will feel like you are there. And quite frankly, I wouldn't mind at all being lost in Thailand.

conquering the great wall

The Finish Line.

I just returned from one of the most amazing journey's of my life! Camille, Christine, and I traveled to China and Thailand for two weeks to run The Great Wall of China Marathon. We trained all of spring, but I don't think anything could prepare us well enough for this race. We arrived and read the itinerary for the race. It's starts with a 4.5km uphill climb, then you hit about 1.7km of The Great Wall which is up and down steep stairs, and then you have 13km to run through an old Chinese villiage. Definatly proved a humbling experience for me, but alas I finished and at that point, finishing was all I was worried about. There were so many great parts to the race, especially running through the villiage where small children were cheering us on, giving us high fives and flowers. For my first race, this was a great experience and I am only happy that the races in the future will probably all be easier than this one. I have already signed up for another marathon in Connecticut next month and two in South Africa next year. The feeling of finishing is addicting. By The Great Wall Gates, still happy I finished the dang thing!

The Great Wall is SO Amazing!



One of the greatest parts about the race was meeting runners from all over the world. We had the opportunity to really get to know them. Some had run over 70 Marathons. I'm so inspired by the people I met, they are just amazing.
Part of Our Tour Group

At the Celebration Dinner

Chinese Dragons to Congradulate Us

This area of the world is beautiful. Another favorite part was meeting people from all over the world. This race is unique because runners are put together in tour groups and you basically spend the whole week together. I loved that. Was way awesomne. Beijing was an interesting city. You can tell from my pics that the air is think and it makes it difficult to see. That wasn't way awesome. Christine and I at the Forbidden Palace

Also, take notice of the interesting cuisine we ate: scorpions, coconuts, Peking Duck, a traditional meal at a Chinese Families house. I have to say it's not quite like going to Italy where all the food is more than delicious, but I don't think you can get to know a culture, without trying the food...so we did.

Drinking Coconut Milk, Mmmm.

Yep, That's a Scorpion.

At Our Peking Duck Lunch.

I must also add that it was great to do this with Camille. We've traveled so many places together and this journey was probably the most challenging. While I only did the half marathon, she completed the full, and I am pretty darn proud of her! It's so nice to have a friend who will travel literally anywhere in the world with me and who pushes me to do better and strive for more!


For anyone thinking about this race I would highly encourage it. What an amazing experience!

to a mom who rocks

I could spend an entire day writing about how wonderful my mom is, but...I kind of don't have an entire day so I will leave you with a good top ten list although most of you who know her wouldn't need the list cause you already know she's amazing.
1. My Mom is always willing to help anyone with anything. Whether it is scrapbooks, weddings, dinners, rides, cleaning, moving...doesn't matter.
2. My Mom makes the BEST dinner rolls. Everyone who's been lucky enough to try one knows what I am talking about.
3. My Mom listens to me on the phone for hours and finally figured out how to use google chat so we can talk even more. I'm so proud.
4. My Mom is the queen of the bundt cake. I don't remember a Sunday Dinner without them.
5. My Mom taught all of her kids to be self reliant and to work hard.
6. My Mom has a beautiful testimony of the Gospel and has always remained faithful even when things got tough.
7. My Mom is dedicated to her marriage to My Dad and I am so grateful for that example.
8. My Mom has this way of making each one of her kids feel like the favorite. (but I know that I am the real favorite!)
9. My Mom loves holidays and everybody knows it because she makes them so special.
10. My Mom is one of the least judgemenatal people I know. There is a reason why she has so many friends.

I love you Mom and hope you have a sensational Mothers Day!

rice to riches update...

Camille, Lynsie and Joey came to town this weekend so Jess and I decided to take them to one of the most of the most fabulous finds in New York for dessert! So fabulous, I dedicated a previous post in October just to this place. Words really can't describe how delicious this stuff is. Rice Pudding in 30 different flavors. The Almond was Amazing, the Cheesecake was Charming and the Raspberry was Rediculous. Whoever thought of this idea is brilliant. Not to mention you get it in these super cool bowls. Lynsie (being the frugal monkey that she is) took home a whole set of the rice bowls, one in each color!

thank you

to all of my adorable cousins, aunts, parents, uncles and siblings for this T-shirt and your Good Luck wishes for the marathon. I have a feeling I am going to desperatly need it next weekend. Wish I could take all of you in my suitcase. I love and miss you all! And as a side note: Steve...no...I will NOT be thinking of your beard to help my cross the finish line. If you look closely you will see Steven's drawing of himself and the beard he tortures me with! Love you baby brother!

mom's visit to new england

It's been such a treat to have my mom here all week. She came to visit New York for the first time and has been hired to do scrapbooking for the family I nanny for. I will definatly feel a sense of loss when she leaves as I am loving chatting with her, scrapbooking with her, showing her around and best of all, enjoying her delicious cooking. I've missed it! Last weekend I took her to New York and Boston. We were exhausted by Monday, but it was well worth it. If you live in the New York area and haven't seen "Mamma Mia" on Broadway yet, book your tickets now! My mom and I laughed our heads off and we knew all the ABBA songs of course. Enjoy our little trip highlight slideshow below!

my hero

I dug up this old photo of Grandpa Harris singing to Grandma the other day. This is no ordinary fella...in fact, he was one of the most stellar men I have met. This picture captures his zest for life perfectly and makes me smile every time I look at it. I've thought a lot about him lately and how I can create a life more like his for myself. His motto (which by the way he wore pinned to every outfit including church clothes on a big round button) was to "Live Well, Laugh Often, Love Much". Many people post this on a variety of paraphonelia, but my Granfather LIVED this quote. And for that, he is my hero...my number one and because of him I have the best family (parents, siblings, aunts, uncles, cousins) in the world. I will never forget him saying to me as we were chatting one day..."Holly, never settle for what you can live with...go for what you can't live without". I think about that quote EVERY DAY of my life and it pushes me to find what I really want out of my own journey, which ultimatly is a life like his and to continue his legacy of family strength and making those that you come into contact with feel important. Grandpa Harris is such a treasure and I don't think any person lucky enough to meet him would disagree with that.

rock and roll

So if I look a little dazed lately it is only because I'm absolutely hooked on Guitar Hero and because of it I don't sleep! You can't get me away from it on my free time. I have the coolest job in the world because as a nanny, I get paid to play GH against an eight year old who thinks he's hot stuff. The only downfall...I'm not getting much of anything else done. I'm completely miffed that I can't get past the battle against Slayer on "Hard" and I've had the song "When We Were Young" stuck in my head for two weeks straight. My bedtime is on average two hours later than it was before last week when the dad I nanny for purchased it for "Madeline's 7th Birthday". She rarely plays it at all...my boss and I battle each other til we can't see straight. If you have a cure for how to get off Guitar Hero and back to normal life, please leave comments below. In the meantime, I am going to go try to beat Slayer!! I'm not going to bed until I do! Rock On!