we had a blast

last weekend at the

white trash bbq

Can I just say how much I adore my friends and family here in Utah? This summer I am turning 30 (whoa, deep breaths), and because I am going to be cooking in New York all summer I won't be here for my birthday. We decided to have a little barbeque to celebrate, but with a catch…we dressed white trash, talked white trash and ate white trash lol. The costumes were hilarious and the food was nasty and I adored the whole thing. Definitely will be repeating this party next year!

I love love love this picture! I love that Mindy is in a dew rag, Melissa has a mullet, and Matt is wearing biker gloves. I love that Courtnee has a Jersey on, that Eliza is in a diaper only and has snot in her nose and is eating a whole peeled carrot. I love that Becky, my little health nut friend has pork rinds in her hands. I love that Bryce and Brian are sporting handle bar mustaches, that Megan is over endowed and that Jessica is wearing hideous stone washed jeans. I love that Sharlene (the manikin head) is in this picture, Vanessa's bum and everything else about it really!

This is my old roommate Eliza, who couldn't be cuter. She's got snot in her nose an punch on her T-shirt but I loved her today because she spoke white trash. Adorable!

Even my mom joined in on the fun! She bought this gold number for a $1 at a yard sale! Smokin' hot Mom, smokin' hot!

I don't have words for my cousin Jessica. These stone washed pants will never leave our family, EVER. Yet, I dare say they really shouldn't be worn anywhere lol. I loved the hot pink lip stick stains on the teeth and the sick sparkly shoes. Remember these plastic horses? This one was rusty, and the springs kept breaking. It was awesome!

Oh Shelly! My darling friend. She almost looked too cute to be there, but the drinking while pregnant scenario was perfect!

Megan and Brandon were a hit! We are seriously going to miss them more than toilet paper on a camping trip when they go to Washington! Good Luck my friends!

I was hoping someone would show up in a Mullet, love it!

Bryce, you are one of a kind! I don't really know what to say lol.

Here's the little Mumford Family, so white trash with Matt wearing the capri's and the gloves and the slicked back hair, Courtnee in the Jersey and the too cute for words Isaiah sporting the Mowhawk. When they walked in I nearly wet myself laughing!

Let's talk about the food for a second. No white trash party would be complete without Chili Mac, Tator Tot Casserole, Wonder Bread with Icing, Hostess Twinkies and Cupcakes, Pork Rinds, Mc Donalds Cheeseburgers, Little Debbie oatmeal pies and cheap soda. Sharlene and an ugly figurine angel made for table decorations, perfect!

This My little nephew Jaxon. He has blue lips from the Slip n' Slide. A nice $5 from Walmart feature.

Overall, it was an amazing crazy party. Thank You so much to everyone who came!

 

 

 

 

roadie

I love a good road trip! It goes without saying that we have amazing National Parks in Utah, I mean that is sort of what we are known for right? I somehow in 29 years forgot to discover,

moab

what have I been doing all these years? This place is incredible. You wouldn't think hiking around rocks could be so exciting, but I just marveled at the formations and the Arches and how beautiful the red rock looked against the blue sky. My photos aren't award winning by any means, especially with the storm coming in, but I am just grateful I had the chance to be there, and to live within driving distance. I am definitely making an annual stop from here on out.

 

One place we stopped was "Hole in the Rock". A couple literally bought the rock and built a house inside. So cool! I loved all of the vintage signs from the 1960's and the art structures there.




I was especially keen on this jeep, made of license plates and nuts and bolts. Ah, creativity. Love it!

 

Yay for Natural Beauty, Road Trips, and for lovely Utah!

field trip

Sometimes I get nerdy and curious, just so you know! I woke up last Saturday and decided I wanted to go somewhere and learn something about a place I have never explored. I picked the Kennecott Copper Mine that sits to the West of Salt Lake. Just as I had never been to The Great Salt Lake (previous post), I had never explored this amazing treasure. If you live in Salt Lake or are in the area I highly recommend taking a tour!

Did you know?...

• Kennecott's Bingham Canyon Mine has produced more copper than any mine in history - about 18.1 million tons.
  
• The mine is 2-3/4 miles across at the top and 3/4 of a mile deep. You could stack two Sears Towers (now known as the Willis Building) on top of each other and still not reach the top of the mine.
  
• The mine is so large, it can be seen by the space shuttle astronauts as they pass over the United States.
  
• By 2015, the mine will be at least 500 feet deeper than it is now.
  
• If you stretched out all the roads in the open pit mine, you'd have 500 miles of roadway - enough to reach from Salt Lake City to Denver.
  

Go check it out!

 

lake effect

This weekend I decided to go on a mini adventure to bike around Antelope Island. I had never been there before (crazy, cause I have lived in Salt Lake most of my life) and I wanted to see what it had to offer.

There is not much that can survive out there, and the city of Salt Lake looks tiny from the Island. We did see buffalo, and the biting gnats wanted to be my best friend. I declined.

However, the scenery was beautiful and one of these days when I am a rich teacher, ha ha, I will get an amazing camera to prove it. Until then, these pics will have to do.







.

congratulations

to my baby brother Steven! He graduated from the University of Utah on Friday. I couldn't be more proud! Steven has worked so hard after his mission to get through school, and to be a great dad and husband. I admire Him so much for His accomplishments. Steven now has his degree in Elementary Education. He will be a GREAT teacher and I know His students will adore Him. Steven is also a fantastic little brother. Love you Steven!

perhaps a little bit of random...

I have this new friend Megan. She's a pretty funny girl, and I like her a lot. A few weeks ago she issued a challenge to me to go to Huntsville Utah of all places and visit one of the State's oldest Saloon. The more detailed part of that challenge was to get a picture by the stuffed St. Bernard on the wall. Who stuffs St. Bernard's? Also I was challenged to eat the famous burger at the Saloon which had not one but two hamburger patties and a hot dog. I am still waiting to go into cardiac arrest. On our way, we stopped at The Monestary in Huntsville and bought honey. I don't have pictures because we got kicked out by the monks. Rudeness...kicked out by a Monk? Honestly! I did buy some maple honey though and I am just waiting for the time to bake bread so I can try it. That might happen by 2013. No promises. Thanks to my mom and sisters, this little excursion turned out to be a very fun memory. The scenery was beautiful, we even found a lake that I am determined to swim in this summer!

because I can't think of anything else to post at the moment...

I give you, the official 2010 Blog Quiz. I vow to come up with some more creative posts in the future, but I am a little bogged down with lesson plans, meal plans and life plans at the moment. love it!

2010 GETTING TO KNOW YOU

1. Tennis shoes or boots? Most definitely tennis shoes.
2. What time did you get up this morning? Supposed to be up at 6am. Rolled out of bed at 7am. Made it to work with 5 minutes to spare.
3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema? Oceans
4. What is your maiden name? Harris
5. What is your favorite TV show? The Office or 24
6. What do you usually have for breakfast? A granola bar
7. What is your middle name? Ruth
8. What food do you dislike? Spam and anything that says "low fat"
9. What is your favorite CD at the moment? My Travel Mix (it's got a lil bit of everything stellar)
10. What characteristic do you despise? Rudeness
11. Favorite Clothing? My Cashmere Sweater. I love anything warm and super soft.
12. Anywhere in the world on vacation? EVERYWHERE, including but not limited to India, Hawaii, Australia, Greece, Brazil, Peru, Kenya, or Fiji.
13. Are you an organized person? Mostly.
14. Where would you retire to? An Island. Any Island.
15. Whats your most recent memorable birthday? Spending my Birthday in South Africa having a Braai and watching people "Jive".
16. What are you going to do when you finish this? Fall fast asleep.
17. Furthest place you are sending this? It's the World Wide Web isn't it? I'm sending it to anywhere on Earth.
18. Person you expect to send it back first? Who wants a treat?
19. When is your birthday? This Summer.
20. Are you a morning person or a night person? Night for sure!
21. What is your shoe size? 9
22. Do you own any animals? No, but I totally wish I had a dog.
23. Any news you'd like to share?
24. When you were little, what did you want to be when you grew up? A teacher
25. What is your favorite flower? Tulips or Orchids.
26. What is a day on the calendar you are looking forward to? June 16th
27. How is the weather right now? Snow in April=poop
28. Last person you spoke to on the phone? Sam
30. Favorite drink? Strawberry Water
31. Favorite restaurant? The Dodo
32. Hair color? Brown
33. What was your favorite toy as a child? He-Man Master of the Universe action figures. I played with boys until I was 7.
34. Spring, Summer, Fall or Winter? Summer/Fall
35. Chocolate or vanilla? Chocolate, is that even a question?
36. Coffee or tea? Herbal Rooibos Tea
37. Wish you were still young? Totally
38. Do you want your friends to post this to their blogs? Absolutely
41. What did you do last night? Ate Taco Soup at my parents and swam laps.
42. What are you afraid of? Disappointing people
43. Salty or sweet? Salty
44. Best quality you have? My honesty and loyalty to the things that I love. I will never say I love you if I don't mean it and my friend Amanda says I am fiercely loyal to my passions, dreams and friendships.
45. How many years at your current job? 2 weeks
46. Favorite day of the week? Sunday, who doesn't love that afternoon nap and Sunday dinner?
47. How many people will you send this to? Again, whoever takes the time to read.
48. How many will respond? Like 47
49. Do you like finding out all this stuff about your friends? Why not?

spring cleaning

Along with the blossoms and blooming flowers, there have been a number of changes in my little life. I moved back to Salt Lake. For those who have stayed with this blog for a while, you know that I move...a lot. Maybe this is because I like change, or the chance to renew myself through the refining process of change, or it could just be that when an opportunity presents itself, I take it? Haven't figured out which yet.

I was nervous to quit my job in Connecticut in this economy, but I have to say that it was a great decision. I came back to Salt Lake and decided that I would not take a job unless I was 100% sure it's what I wanted and would benefit my career as a teacher in the future. After interviewing for several jobs in my field, and turning down a couple of offers my patience paid off. I begin working as a Teacher/Parent Consultant for Head Start on Monday. Finally, the degree I earned at the University of Utah will be used, an I will get Health insurance and all of that good stuff. I figure if I am going to teach teenagers in a high school how to be Early Childhood Educators, I should probably get more practice myself. Head Start is a government funded program which provides Early Childhood Education opportunities to low income families. I like that part of it, because I believe that much of what we learn and come to understand about our world happens in our Early years (0-5). I anticipate that my job will be a challenge, but it's important and I believe in it.

Next month I will continue with my Masters in Secondary Education and expect to graduate after student teaching next spring.

Because my job at Head Start is only for the school year and I have summers off (which is the best thing about being a teacher in my opinion), I decided that I would like to spend July-August doing something else I am very passionate about which is cooking. I am going to be the Chef at an International Summer Camp in New York. I have a deep love for the campers who come from all over the world. They are teenagers who come on scholarship to seek leadership opportunities within the camp. Camp Rising Sun also has a humanitarian element, which I love, and it is the reason I was able to travel to South Africa and have so many opportunities to travel all over the world. I owe them! Mostly I am excited to get back into the kitchen and cook for the boys! I get to plan all of the menu's and create cuisine from every region with a variety of spices, what's better than that? I can't think of anything else I rather do for a job. I feel very blessed to have the opportunity.

It's going to be a busy year, but I am happy with the opportunities that have come my way! I am going to get my bum off the couch and my hands off the computer and go enjoy the sunshine! Happy Spring!

baby animal festival

Yesterday I went with some friends to the baby animal festival in Logan. How cute can you get? Last year I went to something similar and brought home a baby chick and baby duck. Yeah um, they lasted about a week. I did not repeat the offense this year, although I seriously wanted to bring home that baby goat. This is my new means of discipline for kids. Instead of a time out, why don't we just take them out for a little Mutton Bustin? So hilarious!
It's doesn't take much to please sweet Heather, just a lil Rock Candy!




These baby bears were the cutest things I have ever seen. I could have watched them all day.


Megan and I enjoying some Bustin.
My favorite red shoes.
Emily and I, starting the day off with some country food.
Group Shot. We had such a delightful time!

channeling fear and confusion into faith and confidence

I haven't blogged for a while because I have had quite an eventful month. March Madness really lives up to it's name. Over the past couple of weeks I have had a number of changes occur, some of which I had control over and others that happened as a result of others choices. To say the least I have been deeply humbled. This post is for all of my readers, who I know may not all share my faith, but perhaps share some of my feelings.

I'd like to compare what I been feeling the past couple of weeks to hall of mirrors. Several reflections of myself looking back at me, but I am confused about how to get out of the hallway and which path to take once I get out. It's not til someone shatters one of the mirrors that I can see where I came from and where I should be. When we are faced with heartache, fear, confusion it often can lead us to questioning how we got there, and what we could have done differently, and sometimes leads us to feeling inadequate. The fear and confusion creep in and the mind chatter wont stop.

So what do we do? We can stay there for a while, looking only at that reflection, or we can look in another mirror. We can see ourselves a different way. This requires faith. This requires believing in something that we may not see in ourselves or for ourselves. Faith in turn gives us confidence to face our fears and also our desires. This is not to say we shouldn't feel or question. But we do have a choice as to the paths we take in our lives. The scriptures tell us,

"Cast not away therefor your confidence, which hath great recompense of reward"
(Hebrews 10:35)

On a more personal level I went to the Salt Lake Temple with my mother on Saturday. I went there with a heavy heart, grieving a loss in a sense. I had so much chatter that I could hardly concentrate but all of the sudden within the walls of that quiet temple I had a profound thought. My tears subsided and my mind stopped racing. The thought was, "Holly, sometimes you are not supposed to understand. But your faith will get you through this and I will take care of you!" I believe this thought was directly from my Heavenly Father, His way of getting it through to my head that I am not going to always have the answers and understanding I am searching for, but I must believe in His Plan of Happiness and go forward with Faith that He knows all things and wants the best for each of His children, which fortunately includes Me.

There are still a lot of uncertainties in my life, but I can not begin to tell you what a difference it has made to know that as I remain faithful I will achieve what this life has in store for me. I have to believe that in order to cast away the fear and anxiety that come from feeling inadequate. I literally feel like that confusion is being channeled into confidence as I pray to God for help and look to Him for direction. I have stopped trying to find the reasons why and that one thing alone has given me the opportunity and energy to move forward. The reflection I looked at today was one of hope and opportunity. I feel like I write this over and over, but I am truly lucky to have had the experiences I have had, and relationships that I treasure. My family and friends are amazing darlings and I hold all of them close to my heart. I will write more often and keep you posted on how this faith and confidence lead into my future.

I am so looking forward to General Conference for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints this weekend. I know I will be enlightened further and gain much from the wisdom of those who speak.

I am also delighted that it is Easter, and that I can turn my thoughts toward the Savior and His incredible sacrifice.

Have a lovely Easter Weekend!