june: the ahem reunion roadtrip

i should preface this post by saying that i have a disease. this disease is called "when other people have cameras, i don't take pictures unless forcibly reminded to do so, and even then, they won't be very good because i really don't care that much." this disease is sort of the inspiration behind this dumb old blog in the first place. but this disease is also why my pictures of a week-long vacation have some gigantic gaps in them.
so......................sorry ashley, nina, josh, and will. i distinctly remember spending quality time with you. and i had a grand total of one picture each of miranda and erin. wow. good thing i only have to do this for one more month. pioneer woman would be ashamed.

on the plus side, this was a vomit-free roadtrip.

the roadtrip started in beautiful milwaukee, wisconsin. miranda and i were very excited about our free hot dogs. and this was actually my first brewers game of the summer, so that was awesome.

hey, yo.

my boy, yovani, was pitching. since michael cameron left for the red sox, i had to pick a new favorite player. yo is it. and he's freaking awesome.

you know, sometimes i wonder if hot dog is even trying. he never wins when i am there. just once, before i die, i would like to see hot dog win the stinking sausage race. is that so much to ask?

stop number two on the trip was indy. oddly, i have absolutely no pictures of this time. we had lunch with nina and got completely drenched running into the mall. we saw kelli and retrieved the boxes she stole from me. we also hung out with my parents and lily. and we made dinner. there were sneaky moose attacks. however, there is no proof that we did these things.

stop number three was nashville. confused by the ridiculous time zone situation, we arrived two hours too early to greet ashley and josiah as they got off the plane. so early, in fact, that ashley and josiah were still in kansas city. not a problem. miranda was forced to memorize maps of every city in the world when she was just a small child, so she knew exactly where we were at all times. i always feel safe when she is driving.

we finally got to stop four: atlanta...with ashley and josiah in tow. i don't know who looks more tired in this picture--josiah or me. here we are...just chillin with the monkey.

this is my soul mate, renae. souuuuuuuuuuul mates! if you believe everything you hear/read, renae sleeps 36 hours a day. she wakes up long enough to eat and smile three times. then she goes back to bed. oh, the life of a baby.

josiah is not a baby anymore. he is a little man. ridiculous.

classic. are there any other words?

nader is browner than usual. and his arms...well, i don't know about you, but i would say it looks like he shaved them recently. ;)

when lily is famous for...well, whatever...i hope they use this picture to show how stunning and dramatic she was as a three year old. amazing.

so the back end of the roadtrip was just the opposite of our way down. we ditched nader, josh, erin, and renae in georgia. we lost ashley and josiah in nashville. we trucked back on up to indy. we hung out with the baby shark allllllllllll day. and then we trudged on home.

the end.

may: seven reasons to move back to indiana

lily is cute when she runs.

lily is cute in the dark.

lily is cute when she plays frisbee.

lily is cute when she pokes people with glow in the dark bracelets.

lily is cute when she is throwing chicken wings and hammers.

lily is cute in a bikini.

lily told me to move back to indiana. she's very persuasive.

april: practically cougars

so we have this fun awards thing we do for our student staff every year. this year, we went with an 80's theme. i was a little concerned about my outfit; let's face it--i have never worn anything that was cool or trendy. for me, it's all about the comfort factor. so when jenni and i went shopping for our 80's outfits, i wasn't expecting much.

we searched. we went to ragstock, but nothing there screamed, "holly and jenni! you must buy me!" (though jenni did find a cute pink tank top that she got.)

we went to rethreads because one of my students works there. didn't see her or anything we felt crazy about.

we went to the goodwill on state street. i found some awesome pants that were entirely unrelated to our endeavor.

finally, we went to the goodwill in fitchburg. we looked. we found some neon shirts. we found some crazy short overalls that were a disgusting greenish color. we found some mom jeans and shorts. they were good, but they weren't IT.

and then...and THEN! we found the pants. the pants that turned our worlds upside down. they were a snakeskin print in purple, gray, and black. jenni told me i had to try them on.

THEY...FIT...PERFECTLY.

creepy.

suddenly, we had our vision: we would be an 80's rock band. quickly, we tore the store apart, looking for similarly awesome pants for jenni.

and we found them!

her pants were a shiny purple pleather sort of number. HOT.

while she was trying them on, i discovered THE BOOTS.

trust me when i tell you that you have never seen anything as exquisite as the combination of these pants and these boots.

after finding pants and boots, jenni and i headed to walmart to see what we could dig up. and wouldn't you know it? miley cyrus saved our lives. (raise your hand if you thought i would ever find cause to type that sentence.) she is apparently all about the 80's, so we found shirts, a tank top for me, and jewelry. we. were. set.

after explaining my outfit, jennifer and i decided that it could use a little flair. so we added in some hot pink nails.

finally, pulling from my extensive temporary tattoo collection, i added some sparkling, flaming cherries. sooooo 80's.


throw on way too much eyeliner and mascara, a combination of shiny blue and magenta eye shadow, tease the hair, and you have yourself...PRACTICALLY COUGARS.


jungle fever makes young men HOTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT.
mothers, lock up your sons. mercy.

march: holly the foodie...

my friend, jd, recently called me a foodie. here's the definition for you:

–noun (slang)

a person keenly interested in food, esp. in eating or cooking.

if we're being honest, i've ALWAYS been interested in eating. :) but in the course of plowing through my 27 things list, i've done a lot more cooking than in the past. not only is it turning out some good food, but i have actually really enjoyed figuring out how to cook it.

when the year is up in july, i will post more pictures of the dinners i have cooked for people. in the meantime, here are some samples of some simple meals i have cooked for myself. (if you notice a lack of chicken, it's because i'm allergic...so i just don't really cook it. go figure.)

broiled salmon (seasoned with chili powder) with a side of sauteed asparagus

broiled beef steak (seasoned with liquid smoke)
with a side of beets

surf and turf: grilled beef steak and perch (topped with fried onions and mushrooms) with a side of baked butternut squash

a second variation on surf and turf: grilled beef steak (drowned in onions and diced tomatoes) with battered and pan fried tilapia with a side of boiled red potatoes and pearl onions

broiled salmon (lightly seasoned with olive oil, pepper, and parsley) with cherry tomatoes and a side of boiled red potatoes, pearl onions, and broccoli

fiyero came to visit

clean room=sanity

it's become sort of a trend...as the week goes on, i get less and less careful about keeping my room clean...i get home, throw stuff down, go to bed...by the time saturday rolls around, it's chaos. chaos to the point that i can't focus and MUST clean it. so that's how my day started.

i made some coffee and got down to it. i feel better about life now.

mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmguacamole

it all starts with some awesome avocados...juicy tomatoes...

a couple of jalapenos...

tangy onions...

oh, hey there, guacamole...looking mighty fine tonight...

december: the world revolves around lily noela

attention: bonus pictures ahead!!

if you've spoken to me, you probably know i have a niece named lily. she is the cutest baby on the planet. i know some of you will disagree, but the great thing about this country is that i have the freedom to think that she is the cutest baby on the planet, and you have the freedom to be wrong.

this is my sweet baby girl:

i mean, come on. COME ON! tell me you wouldn't do anything for that little face. can we say heartbreaker? she's quite the little helper around the house, too. as good at dusting as me! and she always does favors for her best friend (grandma).

normally, she is not a fan of people leaving, but maybe she's tired of me. this morning, she was being a stinker, so i told her i was going back to wisconsin. she looked at me and went, "ok...goodbye!"

lily loves to spin, dance, and play my guitar. she has two very musical parents, so who can really be surprised?

baby lily is a big fan of the snow. she really likes playing in it. and she really, really likes eating it. could be one of her new favorite things. most little kids look cute in their winter gear...lily is just like a little cupcake. she's ridiculous.


if you think that lil is cute when awake, she's like a little angel when she's asleep. and check out the hair.


this is my baby. and i love her.

get them out of the van!

live feed and chat: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/forkout-for-cfi

how you can donate: http://www.forkout.org/Forkout.org.html

to learn about what they're raising money for: http://www.go-cfi.org/

steak yeah!

november: vampire babies are running amuck

i spent thanksgiving with mj's family. which really means that i got to hang out with the vampire baby. i love him.

sometime in the future, i may write a book called, 'what to expect when you're expecting a vampire baby.' here are some highlights:

vampire babies love cookie dough. and if they aren't already pale enough, they also love to spread flour EVERYWHERE.
vampire babies are very expressive.


or maybe that's the look vampire babies give when they get caught.

sometimes, vampire babies are thirsty for blood.


the most important thing to know about vampire babies is that they don't always know how to communicate just what they are trying to say. aside from touching your head to transfer thoughts and images, it is recommended to teach them sign language.

he's saying blue, if you're curious. and yes, those are blue sprinkles all over his hands.

adler is a super cute vampire baby. enough said.