Rainy Days and Girl's Nights!

My Bestie, Christine C. (pictured from Dec '09)

The past few days have been quite cold, and unusually so since it is mid-March. Why is it that there is snow in March in UTAH?! What ever happened to spring rain, spring warmth, spring color? I don't like the snow and the wind and the cold!!! Regardless of my dislike of the current weather, I was still able to have a good time with my friends and family this weekend.

So, Friday night, I spent the chilly evening with one of my besties, Christine C. As you may have read in my post about my Dad, she is such an amazing friend. I love her to death!!! (And more!) I made dinner for her and her family, simple yet delicious, Mac & Cheese with Bacon, Shreded Tillamook Cheddar Cheese and a bit of Onion.

We then headed to the institute to dance the night away and give our legs a good work-out. By the time we were done, both of us had sore legs! We stayed up late that night (probably later than we should have) and we watched The Guardian while eating giant chocolate-covered strawberries and drinking our favorite sodas (Diet Coke for me and Dr. Pepper for Christine). Then as the movie got more intense Christine ended up reassuring me that everything was going to be ok and I also found out that she has a good arm to clutch when afraid!

On Saturday, in the morning we got up and I made breakfast for me and Christine (since we got up a bit late the boys had already eaten), we had Bacon, Eggs (with cheese and onion) and Toast with home-made jelly. It was soooo yummy! After that, we headed to Wal-Mart to do some shots with Emma and Jeremiah for the video I am making for my digital media class. It isn't done yet, but it will be!!! Below is a clip from the various shots that I took, be on the lookout for the final project soon!

What I am trying to show is...

how quality Tillamook Cheese brings people together,

take a look!

Let me know what you think about this shot.

After the filming was over, we grabbed a bite to eat for lunch and I had to head home. I took the long ride on the bus from Utah County to Salt Lake County and then took TRAX home. After mom picked me up from the station, we headed home to the beading party. There were snacks to be had, drinks to sip and necklaces to be made.

Below are the things that I worked on.

Part of a Choker made of Hemp, using the Square Knot

The entirety of the necklace and earrings I made. The Dragonfly charm lifts up to show the blue underneath and it says "Live life to the fullest." The blue earrings say "Hope" on them. I anchored on the little swirlies and the dragonfly charm using jump rings.

As we all worked we helped each other with our projects, while listening to Michael Buble, Harry Connick Jr., Carrie Underwood and the Hairspray Soundtrack. Mom and Chrissy had already finished a few necklaces before I got home, but while I was there mom made a couple of pretty button necklaces and Chrissy put final touches on some unfinished projects such as a watch, she also did some repair work, such as fixing my New Moon Necklace, and she made a cool China-themed necklace too!!!

What would be a girls night with the family without Tippy's crazy antics? She ran around the room like she was high on cat-nip and she tried attacking the strings of my hemp, thinking possibly that she was trying to help, and then as she finally calmed down, she laid out flat on her back and looked at us lazily. Silly cat! I love you!

Tippy on her back...

Today, at church it was pretty interesting, the Relief Society lesson was about the Creation. Sacrament meeting was exciting, it was for the two missionaries that are leaving soon, Brother Tholke, who is leaving for Argentina and Brother Littlewood, who is leaving for Connecticut. Also, I managed to discover something during Sacrament, when trying to catch a couple's kid from running out of sacrament, it would be wise (especially if you are already klutzy) to not dash after him while wearing heals. It may result in a twisted ankle, hurt knee and damaged pride. Meetings aside however, it was the cover of the program for Sacrament that caught my attention, there was a scripture quoted there, and it read...

Behold, my arms of mercy are extended toward you, and whosoever will come, him will I receive; and blessed are those who come unto me.

~3 Nephi 9:14

Also, since my mom serves in the Library, she makes tons of copies for people in the ward, so I happened to see the program for tonight's Standards Night, which struck me as weird, because I don't have to go anymore... Anyhow the scripture that is quoted for the theme this year is "Be Strong and of Good Courage."

Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.

~Joshua 1:9

This scripture really struck me, and I really hope that I can remember it in days to come.

Well, this weekend was a great weekend and I really wish that I could skip the next two days and just go straight to Spring Break... I am really looking forward to it. There is some stuff going on with the Epilepsy Association of Utah this week, and then Chrissy and I are taking another adventure to Vegas on Friday, now that I can actually DO the "fun" stuff there! LOL JK.

Be on the lookout for another post!

Always

~Holls

Viva Las Vegas Baby!

Alrighty then, so this post has been delayed... I am so sorry for my lateness. So on March 20-22, I spent my Spring Break weekend in Las Vegas with my cool sister, Chrissy! We left early on Friday to head to Salt Lake International to get a flight. Chris got a good deal on the tickets through T-mobile so we figured, why not fly?


Upon arrival, we checked into the Excalibur hotel and proceeded to walk almost all of the Las Vegas strip. It was amazing to see everything... each casino/hotel was distinctly different, like different worlds or planets. I made the observation that it's probably that way so that there is at least one hotel/casino that is appealing to any one person who is in Vegas, and honestly, after seeing Ocean's 11, who could go wrong with the Mirage, Bellagio, and MGM Grand? (Those are all Terry Benedict's) I guess that Excalibur was appealing to me... it's a freakin' castle! I loved it.


Excalibur features a show called "Tournament of Kings," which is similar to Medieval Times California (for all of you WX Spring Break trippers!), you are served yummy food, you eat without utensils, you watch the tournament while rooting for your king, which includes, joust, javelin, hand-to-hand combat, and lets not forget the creepy dragon king!

Norway's Flag

Dinner... Yum-O!

Me and Prince Christian!

We had zesty tomato soup, our own little chicken, broccoli, baked potato wedges, and a desert. Our king was the king of Norway, but I was able to meet Prince Christian, who ended up being the "winner," and I think we may have had a moment. I would have taken more pictures of the tournament, but flash photography is distracting to the horses and the performers. Oh, another cool thing about the tournament was that there was bit of amazing acrobatics/gymnastics that was done by a small woman and it was all through two guys holding up a board and she did her thing that way... Amazing!

Well, this is the end of what I have for the first part of my report about Vegas, be on the lookout for Part 2!

Happy Adoption-Day to Me!

So, my 20th birthday was three days ago, on December 4th, and since it was a school night and I didn't get home until like 10ish since it was a game night I didn't really have time to blog on my birthday, but my sister did! She wrote a lovely post and it made me so happy! Click here to view it. So, if the 4th was my birthday, then why are we celebrating today? Well, it is because, today is the day that I was adopted into the Ferrin Family! Yes, well this is a very short post, but I am still celebrating none-the-less :D If you want to know more about all of this just comment.

Media Review I

July Release - Miley Cyrus - Breakout

So, now and then I like to do media reviews on the latest stuff that I have seen, read, or listened to. I did a few of them in my other blog (The Formal Operational Stage of Life) and I thought that these summer releases would be a great place to start.

After Chrissi and I were released from the Hill Cumorah Pageant we were on the road again. We watched Disney Channel and the Food Network most nights that we stayed in hotels. As many of you know, when you watch Disney Channel, there are mini-music-videos (they are less than 2 minutes) that promote the latest Disney Channel Pop-Star.

How many of you have seen Miley's 7 Things music video? Can I see a raise of hands? Well, Chrissi and I had only ever seen it on those nights that we watched Disney Channel, and the video was very weird for someone who had never seen the whole thing because, if you are familiar with the song, Miley goes through the 7 things that she hates about her guy and then the 7 things that she loves about her guy.

Well, it shows her and a few other girls and how sad they are from how their guys hurt them and then it breaks to the verse where Miley sings about the 7 things that she loves about her guy... Needless to say, we found that rather confusing because Miley and the other girls are supposed to be sad... but then they sing about how they love their guy...? So, on one of the nights that we stayed at a hotel that had WiFi, I looked up her 7 Things music video on YouTube. Again, needless to say, it cleared things up for us, it was most helpful to see the whole thing.

Christine and I decided that they shortened the video for one or two reasons, the first being more obvious but the second reason is a real possibility. The first reason would be for just keeping the time in commercials and in between shows to be not too long, or so they could fit more promotional things in there too. The second reason, we thought, might have been because the younger Hannah/Miley fans' parents probably don't want their children hearing about how their pre-teen popstar idol sings about hating someone. A big no-no! *wink wink*

Now you know the story about how I came acoss Miley's album, now it's time for the review. Here is the list of her songs on her newest album, Breakout.

1. Breakout
2. 7 Things
3. The Driveway
4. Girls Just Wanna Have Fun
5. Full Circle
6. Fly on the Wall
7. Bottom of the Ocean
8. Wake Up America
9. These Four Walls
10. Simple Song
11. Goodbye
12. See You Again (Rock Mafia Remix)

Holly Elizabeth's Rating: 3 and a Half Stars

My overall thought about Breakout, is that it is a great debut album for her break-away from the Hannah Montana name. While most of her songs have the same upbeat peppy nature that Hannah performs there are a few songs that shows a different side that most Hannah-fans are not used to and a side that the older teenagers and young adults can better appreciate.

When I first listened to the first song on the album, Breakout, I was reminded of a song that was on her previous album Hannah Montana 2, many Hannah fans would know it, it's called We Got The Party. Both songs are basically about partying and breaking out of the norm of everyday life. I would put Breakout as a song that is geared more toward the younger fans.

Miley's hit single, as was mentioned above, 7 Things, I think reminds me of a sort of Avril Lavigne-ish nature or attitude with the whole "seven things I hate about you" thing. However, on a different side, the audible acoustic guitar, and southern drawl reminds me of Carrie Underwood. Either way, it is a great song for when you are mad at your guy. It exhibits adequate passion, confusion, and frustration for the inexperienced dater. I would say that 7 Things was meant for the older fans, but it still sort of goes toward the pre-teen fans.

One of the songs that is different from her usual peppy beat would be track 3's The Driveway. It is definitely meant more for the older fans. It took me a few times to figure it out, but my interpretation of the song is that she tries for so long to make her relationship with her guy work but it just isn't working and so then one night when he is driving her home they break it off and she watches him leave her driveway, knowing that she won't see him again. This is a song that I favor a bit more, but the thing that I wonder is that if you really think about Miley's age, and then think about the nature of the song, how much relationship experience could she really have had? And if she has had her share of relationship experience do you really think that is alright for someone her age to be in such a relationship?

I'd have to say that the best song on the album would have to be the fourth song, Girls Just Wanna Have Fun. Miley and her co-writers did a really nice job on covering this song. I absolutely love the upbeat tempo and how there is a forte of strings. It was the perfect mix of nostalgia, classic rock and pop.

Full Circle, now that's a name of a song that makes you wonder, what could that song be about? Well, I still haven't figured it out yet, I think it's about how Miley always goes back to the guy who she is most comfortable with. Please, listen to it and then comment my blog and explain it to me!

Don't YOU wish that YOU could be a Fly On The Wall? Ok, what other song does this remind you of? It's a guy who sings this other song, he came up second in one of the seasons of American Idol, comment who it is that sings about flies on walls and I will reward you. Besides the fact that flies on walls has already been covered in the area of pop music I would have to say, that, in a weird way, this sixth song is by far one of my most favorite from this album. I think what I like most is that the above mentioned male singer sings about longing to be a fly on the wall, while Miley is singing about how she KNOWS that her guy wishes that he could be a fly on her wall. It's just ironic... I think though, as far as fans go, I think that the younger fans will like the beat, but the older fans will appreciate the irony and the nature of the song.

It's on the Bottom of the Ocean and towards the bottom of my rating list. This song is a great one, if you are in the right mood. It is definitely slower and it just... Well to be honest about it, if I have lost the love of someone that I loved then I probably don't want to be more depressed I probably want to listen to something that helps me vent my anger and frustration. If I become depressed and uncaring at all... that is a scary thing to see... So, it is a good song, it isn't bad, it's just not my thing. I think that this was meant for the older fans and I think it is those fans who will appreciate it most as well.

The next song, Wake Up America, has a great message, but it just doesn't cut it for my liking... I think that today's pop stars are trying to gain a little bit more attention by letting the world know that they are a part of the plan to "Go Green." I understand why it's so important to "go green" and I will do my small part, but it seems like such a politically charged issue and as with most politics, I don't like hearing about it or having to think too hard about it. Call me a "blond" or whatever, but politics just aren't my thing, just as the seventh song on Miley's album just isn't my thing either.

These Four Walls, doesn't get four stars from me. Ok, this is another, "not my thing" sort of song. It is a good song, if you are in the mood to listen to it. I believe that this was written to be for the older fans. I would, however, love to know your opinion about These Four Walls, because I know it is a good song. What do you think about it?

To take a break from the reading of my review take a look at the music video for 7 Things, as mentioned above.

You know, sometimes you get to listening to music and there is so much going on within it that you don't understand it, sometimes that's how life is too - you get to much going on around you and within you that you get lost and confused. That is what the tenth song in the album says to me when I listen to it. It's called Simple Song, and I think that the title fits nicely. I think that for the younger fans, they might like the song, but I think that the older fans will like and appreciate it more. This is one falls into my top five of the album. Where does it fall for you?

The second-to-last song, Goodbye, is also in my top five with Simple Song. This song has more acoustic music such as guitar and strings such as violin and has more of a country feel. I love the sound of the song, I love the lyrics. But the nature of the song causes me to again wonder how much real relationship experience young Miley could have had thus far in her life. This song I'd say is meant for the older fans and I think it is those fans who will like it and appreciate it.

Last but definitely not least is the twelfth song that is well known at dances/stomps (at least the ones I go to) and it's called See You Again (Rock Mafia Remix). This song is most definitely in my top five. I really love good remixes - they are fantabulous! The thing that I like the most about this one is that Christine likes it and when we listen to it in her car she makes me laugh when she lip-syncs along and then I just have to join in. We have had some good times listening to See You Again, both the original and the remix.

Top Five Songs
(In Order of Appearance)

1. Girls Just Wanna Have Fun (4)
2. Fly On The Wall (6)
3. Simple Song (10)
4. Goodbye (11)
5. See You Again (Rock Mafia Remix) (12)

Well, this has been the first Media Review of a College Student, I hope you enjoyed it. Please comment any answers to my questions within the blog and your thoughts about my post.

Blogging Later,
Always,
~Holly Elizabeth
AKA
~~Holls

Things Remembered

Here are the directions:
1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!
2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog, like I did after I saw my sister's blog, and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty cool (and funny) to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you.

There's No Place Like Home

Hey there to those of you who read my blog! I hope you all are having a fantabulous first day of August! That just seems weird to me that today is the first day of August. I suppose that July passed so fast for me because Christine and I were having such a good time on our Roadtrip.

Well, the last two days at Washington DC were great, we went on a tour of the Capitol with one of Jim Matheson's representatives in DC - his name was Chuck. I can't help but giggle at the name, but that's not the point of my post, so I'll move on. After the fantastic tour of the Capitol we went to the White-House visitors center and learned more about the ins and outs of where the President lives and what he does while he lives there. (That was deep, I know!) We made the trek to the war monuments after visiting the White-House visitor's center. Every monument was so different, but so beautifully unique. I think my favorite was the WWII monument - it is basically a fountain and the symmetry that was used for such a large monument was amazing!

I realize that there is probably more to be said, but that's all I've got for ya right now...

PTYL

~Holls

It's a Bird... It's a Plane... It's... Su-per Grover!

Roadtrip - After Pageant – Destination: Washington DC

So, the pageant is over… and as the wig-ladies say, “Don’t be sad it’s over, be glad it happened!” I had an absolutely ‘wonderful-marvelous’ time at the Hill. Unfortunately, however, I didn’t have a whole bunch of time to get to blog my experience but I will update that part ASAP. In the meantime you are welcome to read my sister’s blog, which has great pics of us at the pageant, and right now, I am going to post about today’s events.

This morning we got up early at the Red Carpet Inn in Canandaigua, New York. Luckily for us, we had taken the time to pack up our stuff so all we had to do was shower up and ship out! We grabbed a bite at the local Micky-Ds and headed to the Rochester airport. It was today that I realized that it has been seven years since I was last on a plane. That was summer of 2001 – before 9-11 – There is no lie about how security has changed since then. I will admit, however, that the wait for security wasn’t bad at all since we had an early flight and there wasn’t very many people in the terminal. We had to take any of the liquids/gels out of our suitcases, I had to take out my laptop and we both had to take off our shoes. That was just weird… being shoe-less in an airport…
Because of the increased security it is pretty much mandatory that you arrive at the terminal two hours before your flight departs. Well, since we got through security fairly fast and since it wasn’t too hard to find our departing gate we had a little less than an hour and a half to wait for our plane. The sheer irony of this whole thing is that our flight was only 45 minutes long! My sister figured though, that it would have been a day driving to Washington D.C., so when you calculate the time gained and the things that we were able to do today it all worked out in the end.

But now, back to the flight, oh my goodness! The plane was small, it had about 16 rows of seats (Chrissy and I figured) and each row had four seats and the rows were divided by a small aisle. That my friends, is how I got the aisle seat and how Chrissy got the window seat. So, because it was a smaller plane, the norm of having two carry-on pieces is different. We actually had to give them one piece of our luggage so they could put it in the belly of the plane – there wasn’t enough room on-board. Another thing about the plane being smaller was that it was a bit bumpier in the air than a bigger plane, that was the only thing that I didn’t like about the smaller plane. I didn’t mind them taking my other bag. OK, so the next thing about flying in this plane was that when we arrived we didn’t get out in the terminal. We got out on the Tarmac!!! Ever since I’ve seen the old version of “Parent Trap” I have wanted to get off of a plane on the Tarmac. So there we stood, not five yards away from the wings of the plane!

On the Tarmac, waiting for my luggage right by the plane!

Once we had gotten into the building we walked to the other side of the building (not far at all) and literally walked onto a shuttle from the building… it pulled right up to the building, like a truck would at a loading dock. Have you seen a loading dock before? If you have you know the height of it and I think that these docks for the shuttles were pretty high too – that was evident to me when I looked out the window as we pulled away from the building – the wheels on these things were HUGE! Ok, ok, they weren’t as big as the wheels on the machines at Kennecott Copper Mines but they were significantly bigger than any care tire.
So we were speeding across the Tarmac on this shuttle to get to the main terminal. Once there we confirmed out tickets for the “Super Shuttle” from Dulles to Washington D.C. and within another hour we arrived at the Holiday Inn Capitol. This hotel is literally within walking distance of the Capitol, the White-House, the Washington Monument, and several Smithsonian museums as well as many other tourist hot spots.

As soon as we had checked in to our room we headed to the Air and Space Museum. There were so many cool things there! There were things that some of the earlier astronauts took with them up in space was very interesting… to see how their food was packaged, what they used for breathing, what safety equipment they had the tools they used to collect space stuff… back in the developing days of space-travel. Now everything is so different, but yet in a way, it isn’t… Does that make any sense? Another thing that I really liked was seeing this presentation about flight – it was meant for kids, but there were ‘kids’ of all ages watching. The young (probably college age) presenter explained the four characteristics of flight. Honestly, I can say that a lot of what he talked about was applicable to my physics class. I am such a nerd… There were artifacts and displays of the beginnings of flight as well as artifacts and displays of space-crafts and many neat hands-on learning centers so that the laws of flight, gravity and space could be better understood. I’ve gotta say that the display of presenter was asking the kids questions, sort of in a rhetorical sense, because I think he knew that a lot of kids were kinda intimidated, and I wanted to raise my hand and answer them, but it wasn’t my place to do so… The questions weren’t meant for young adults.

A NASA space aircraft



Ahh! I don't wanna get sucked in!



Planes - Dude!



And you thought I was short before!

After we went to the Air and Space Museum we headed to an expo that was going on at a part of the Smithsonian – Jim Henson’s Fantastic World! It was a really neat thing to go to. Not only were their displays that had the Muppet and Sesame Puppets but there were commercial reels and sketches that got Jim started in the TV industry. There were story boards of some of the things you see on Sesame street as well as sketches of what some of the main characters looked like originally. For example, Oscar, the Grouch was sketched as being purple, but in Season 1 of Sesame Street, Oscar was orange. If you have seen Sesame Street at any time in the last several years you would know that Oscar is neither Purple or Orange but he is Green! Did you know that that Elmo’s World has been on Sesame street for the past ten years? It aired beginning in 1998, I was 9 at that time and it is still going strong today! Here is a quote from the expo,

"As children, we all live in a world of imagination, of fantasy, and for some of us that world of make-believe continues into adulthood."

Unfortunately we couldn’t take any pictures inside the gallery, but it’s understandable for preservation purposes. However, I did take this picture of Christine at the entrance of the gallery.

After we finished at Jim Henson’s Fantastic World! we headed for the Washington Monument, but unfortunately we arrived there after the tours ended so we couldn’t go up inside of it, but we were satisfied just being within yards of the monument.

One view of the Washington Monument, we took so many pictures of that thing!

Finally, to finish up our first day in D.C. we headed to the National Museum of Natural History where we spent about an hour in the display area for stones and gems.

Topaz: My birthstone. There was an entire case of large chunks of Topaz, here are a few that I really liked. If you need any ideas for a birthday present, here's one! *wink wink*

A HUGE chunk of Quartz that we could touch

Christine, touching some lava-rock

After a long day of going up and down the National Mall, we headed back to the hotel and ordered an extra cheesy pizza from room service - ah it was delightful!

Well, that was a long post, and I need to turn in for tonight.
Blogging later,
~Holls

Windless Windmills

Roadtrip - Day One - Destination: North Platte

Well, the first day of the road-trip is coming to a close, it's 10:45 pm Nebraska time and I am just relaxing on a queen-sized bed givin' you the update while watching TV.

Today was a long day, we got up early and got some last minute things together and got out around 8:00 AM, we stopped at Little America and made sure to get our 50 cent ice cream cones. I think it's pretty amazing how there is just that little oasis of a spot just in the middle of nowhere. Little America seems to always be getting better. Last year they were doing construction between the gift-shop and restaurant and this year, we found that they added a playground to the Little America stop. I think it's great that they decided to invest in one, since many people - many families with small children stop there to take a stretch and get a bite to eat.

So, on our way to our one of our first stops we traveled through some hilly areas, and one area which seemed the optimum spot to harvest wind for power. It seemed obvious anyway since there was literally a field of windmills. The strange thing was that they weren't moving at all! My sister and I found that to be terribly ironic since it's supposed to be really windy up there but there was no wind at all! I took a picture as we were driving past the windmills and that's what they looked like - no movement at all!

One may wonder what in the world a passenger could do while in the car for around nine hours (The time from SLC, UT to North Platte, NE). Wanna know what I did while in the car? (I know you do!!!) So yes, there is the obvious option to sleep, which suits me fine since I get drowsy from the movement of the car anyway. However, one can only sleep so much in the car... and it's seriously murder on your neck if you are in the wrong position. So what else to do? Well we listened to CDs while we were still in Utah and once we got to Rawlins, Wyoming, we started listening to Fire of the Covenant by Gerald N. Lund on CD and I have been following along in the book. I felt skeptical at first about reading it, but so far it's pretty good. It is a fictional story based on the journey of two families from their native lands to America and to their final destination of Zion, (Utah). It is about the handcart company that got stuck in the winter and had some hard times on their journey. I am really enjoying this book, it's a great way to get in the mood for Pageant and just be reminded of things that are important to me - things that I value.

Well, I still have some things to do before I go to bed, I was thinking of doing some reading and maybe work on organizing my photos from last year. Oh yes, I am organizing my photos from last year while on the trip and I sorted them a bit before I started blogging, but I'll need to do some more organizing soon. Maybe that will wait until tomorrow, it's 11:15 PM Nebraska time and I should get to bed... the hard thing is that for me it's still 10:15 PM Utah time, so really this isn't my usual bedtime...

Ah well, I should sleep anyway it's going to be another long day of driving. We might be stopping at Winter Quarters tomorrow! That should be good.

That's all for my update
Posting later,
~Holls

Roadtrip (Again!)

I am going on a roadtrip with my sister, Christine, to participate in the Hill Cumorah Pageant. I will be at the Hill Cumorah, in Palmyra, New York, from July 4th until July 20th but since we are driving we are leaving on the 28th or 29th of June and we plan on being back by the 29th or 30th of July. Before and after the pageant I can use the internet, if we find hotels with WiFi and I will be able to post updates. During the pageant I can write postcards to anyone who wants to receive one. If you want me to write to you let me know. I will be posting the address where you can reach me from July 4th to July 20th (the last day you can send something is on July 15th and the first day is July 1st). I would really appreciate a letter from you while I am gone and I would be happy to write to you as well!!!

Hill Cumorah Website

Please note, that while I can receive text and voice messages on my cell phone, I may not be able to respond quickly during this time.

IF YOU WANT TO WRITE ME, you can reach me at the following address:

Holly E. Ferrin
The Hill Cumorah Pageant
P.O. Box 403
Palmyra, New York 14522

Please note that letters sent after July 15 run the risk of arriving after we leave the Hill Cumorah.

I'd love to hear from ya!
~Holls

Mixed Emotions

Which of my emotions dominate? It seems like negative feelings will always dominate over anything else and that negative feelings will continue to cause unsettling and painful sensations in my body. But I cannot focus on these feelings anymore, I must cherish the good times that I have. Such feelings are of today.

When I woke up this morning, and I took the advice of an old friend - I was determined to feel good and confident, no matter what any of the other feelings I have felt this week and honestly, it did me a lot of good to do so.

I picked out my favorite pair of jeans, black v-neck tee and burgundy "mod" tank, I wore my favorite purple topaz rings and earrings and again, took the advice of an old friend and tried my hand at natural eye-shadowing colors with brown mascara, eye-liner and shadow. I put my ever-growing hair up with a one of the classy up-dos in the front that you typically see on girls and used a claw to make the back of my hair spout up with style.

I was finally ready to go to school and my sister dropped me off in AF to wait for the bus and even though it was just after seven, cold, and I couldn't see the sun yet, I was still in a good mood and practically skipped around the bus shelter to keep warm and wait for the bus.

I arrived at school without mishap or problem and as I rounded a corner while headed towards the science building I literally ran into the man who left me in the dust last Tuesday, we barely glanced at each other, and murmured our greetings and continued our separate ways. I let him and any surfaced feelings bounce off of me and I headed to physics.

Physics was good and I was happy, we watched a few videos and worked in our workbooks. ASL was good too, we watched the video from our workbook and I understood most of it. I then headed to lunch with my friend Emma and we chatted for a bit about random topics. After lunch I headed to English and we talked about King Lear and how either he was crazy at the beginning or how he went crazy at the end. After that, I headed to the ASL lab. It was at that point that my emotions had a serious downfall.

I reached into my backpack to get my wallet out, then I opened my wallet to get out my student ID and it was like one of those scenes where everything is in slow motion and strobed and you hear the theme song from Jaws. My ID was missing! I wouldn't have been so worried except for my bus pass is useless without my school ID and I can't get into the ASL Lab without it.

I felt the worry begin to burgeon inside me and my memory began flashing to figure out where the little piece of plastic, that held the key to my transportation home could be. My mind raced and finally I realized where it might be. I remembered playing pool the other day and giving my ID in order to borrow the pool ques and balls. I called my best friend, Emma, because she had been with me at the time and I couldn't get a hold of her so I did the next thing I could, and that was to head to the Institute building where I could hopefully find her.

Upon finding her she saw my pained expression and asked me what was wrong. I told her what had happened and a look of understanding brightened upon her face. She had it from the other day because I had forgotten it that day. My spirits were immediately lifted and continued to do so when one of the guys who was in the gym with us came over and asked what the sign was for "today." He asked for the sign because Emma and I typically sign to one another since we are in the same ASL class and we need the practice - but we told him what it was and he signed "you look beautiful today" to me!!! I tell you, it's one thing for someone to say it, but to have someone sign it, makes all the difference in the world to me. I didn't over-analyze it at all because I know Brady well enough to know that he didn't like me that way, but I appreciated his compliment just the same.

I was hoping to see Mark at the Institute building too and so I headed to the game room. To say the least we played pool for an hour and a half and continued to talk for about another hour and a half more after that. Let's just say I am learning how to play pool really fast and I am learning a lot about technology very fast as well. 

Later on this evening I went to see "Robin Hood" at my sister's elementary school where she teaches, that play, in and of itself deserves a post for itself, but to say the least it was witty and cute and well worth my time.

Upon arrival at home, I felt at a loss for what to do when I saw that no one was online, but I didn't let myself get too down about it.

So today has been good and bad - but today, I focus on the good.

Always
~Holls

Holly's Needs

So I was reading my sister's blog and she did this neat thing with 'needs' and you should try it too. What you do is put your name into the Google search bar and then add the word 'needs' to it. Then you get you list of needs via the Google search engine. Woot!

Holly needs...

• ...help in her Olympic efforts (it's true)
• ...to go back to neighbors (because they are next door? Why?)
• ... a home (well I do have one, but not of my own, so I guess it works)
• ...to start courting (does flirting count?)
• ...to go to obedience and learn how to walk nicely on a leash because she does a lot of "drifting" from side to side investigating things... (ok then, I didn't know that drifting was a problem)
• ...a new home (again, I do have one, but who wouldn't mind something new?)
• ...help, not to be left to rot away in that awful place (well who would want to rot - I can use the help!)
• ...something (so true, I always need something)
• ...a work permit (well I am getting a job soon - so yeah!)
• ...identification (does a drivers license count?)
• ...a job (wow, this thing it psychic!)
• ...a pollinator (really? really? are we having this conversation?)
• ...a hero (well duh! I am so holding out for a hero!)
• ...both male and female plants for maximum berry production (again, are we really having this conversation? really?)
• ...to vent (well who doesn't?)

Well, those are only a few of my needs, apparently, according to Google, I have approximately 663,000 needs... Wow!

What do you think of my needs, and what are your needs?