christmas greetings

I am at work and racing around trying to finish everything by 3pm, which is when John and I are off to Nevada to spend Christmas with the family. I'm currently exhausted, nostalgic, happy, and a little contemplative. I am thankful for so much this season. I've already blogged about some things, but there never is enough time and space to chronicle it all.

I expect the year 2007 to be my best year yet. I'm excited by some of the goals and plans we have in store for the coming year, but I guess I'll blog about that later. For now, I will say merry Christmas. Happy holidays. Be safe and happy this holiday season, and may the new year bring you good and wonderful things.

love,
Holli

some things I'm thankful for

Rainy days
Cuddling in the morning before work
The Savior
When my niece says, “I want Holli”
Days when the temperature is below 100 (all the time, now)
Days when the temperature is above 60 (often)
Tasty water to drink
Going to the dr. during work hours
Receiving flowers
A good book to read
Giving gifts
My healthy, working body
Dance Dance Revolution
A good family
Friends – both old and new
Delicious food
The moon
Christmas lights
Blogs
LOST
Music
Memories
The Book of Mormon
That we have enough and to spare
A husband who is wonderful beyond all reason and the absolute love of my life

a marriage like that

A good marriage is when you can open up your whole soul, and your spouse sees not only the weaknesses and failings, but also the beauty that is there and loves you for it (and despite it). Even more, he sees the potential waiting there and inspires you to become it.

I am thankful to be blessed with a marriage like that.

random thoughts today

I'm on a Bulgarian food roll -- I made Pulneni Chushki (stuffed peppers) last night. So delicious, except I forgot the most important part -- yogurt. :( But that's ok, because they were still tasty, and somewhat healthy.

And we are officially partied out. We went to a party on Friday and two on Saturday. We were invited to yet another party on Saturday, and were very sad to have to miss it, because we love the people who invited us. But luckily, we get to see them tonight. And as for the parties, I've had enough eating hors d'ouvres and making chit-chat with people I barely know, to last me for a long, LONG time.

Have you jump roped recently? I know you did it in elementary school, but have you done it recently? I pulled out my jump rope on Saturday and jumped for three minutes. That was enough to completely wind me. But the crazy part? I woke up on Sunday with horribly sore calves. And they're still sore today. Just from three minutes of jumping!!! I guess it's a sport you work up to, but I don't remember getting so sore when I did it as a kid.

I don't know how we're going to accomplish everything we have to do by Friday when we go to my parents' house for Christmas. We've got present buying, wrapping, delivering, cleaning, laundry, packing, and all kinds of other things to get done. I'm to the point where I'm considering bringing presents and wrapping paper to work and wrapping presents on my lunch hour...

But I'm excited to get away! And I'm taking time off work, so I'll be away from work for 10 whole days. Yes, 10 days. I'm overjoyed!!!

I'm thankful for so many things right now. Maybe I'll have to do an entry of some of the things I'm thankful for. Good idea.

carbohydrates

I'm proud of myself. Ever since we talked to the nutritionist, I've taken her advice about carbs to heart. Yes, I still eat them, and yes, probably more of them than I should. Baby steps.

What I'm proud of is that I'm really trying to add protein to my diet and cut out carbs. My office has had cookies, cake, and candy galore these last few days. In the past, I would have tried some of each, just because it was there. This time, I'm rejecting most of it outright. If I do indulge, it's a very small bite, and it's because I really want it, not just because it happens to be there.

I'm starting to see benefits already. I feel better about myself. I feel good about making healthy choices, and I know they will pay off. I'm not going to cut anything out of my diet completely, because I think it's okay to indulge every once in a while. But I'm cutting waaaay back on the carbs, especially the sugary ones. It's making a difference.

And this morning I got some health news about my grandma. She's ok, but it reminds me how short our time is, and how we need to make the most of it. Itreminds me that I need to take care of my body and treat it well. I'm glad I'm learning how to eat better now, so that I can be healthy in the future.

i don't know what i was thinking

I have never worn fake nails in my entire life. That's the premise here.

I've also never had great fingernails -- they break easily, so I just keep them short. This has never been a big deal to me. I'm a low-key person, and pretty casual. I've never cared much that my nails don't look fabulously manicured. Even on my wedding day, a day when every other person I know put fake nails on, I sported my own nails. I grew them out a little longer than usual, and got a french manicure from a salon. But they were my own nails.

But yesterday? I got this bright idea to buy fake nails from the grocery store. Why? I don't know. I thought it would be a good idea. And when I get a good idea, I don't let it go. So we went to the store, bought the fake nails, and then I glued them on. That's when I realized I had made a terrible mistake. They actually didn't look half bad, but they hurt like the dickens. And also, I felt like I didn't have full use of my hands anymore. Long nails are such a hindrance!

I figured I was stuck with them for a few days, but one of the nails accidentally popped right off. Aha! I managed to pry the rest of them off too, albeit with some messed up nail beds left behind. All of the fake nails came off, that is, except the one on middle finger of my right hand. And it is stuck to me like glue, as it were.

So now I'm stuck with hideously ugly nails -- glue everywhere, with patches of nail ripped up -- and then one long, french-manicured middle finger. It's ridiculous. My coworker says that if I need to flip somebody off, at least it will look pretty.

And now I know -- I should never, ever put fake nails on ever again. Ever.

i love cabbage

Our nutritionist told us a few months ago that John is insulin resistant. It took me several months to actually believe her. I’m a skeptic, and I had a hard time believing that it’s even possible to eat as few carbs as she suggested we eat. Let alone advisable.

But now I see that it is true. And for health reasons, it’s a good idea to finally pay attention and do something about it. What’s more, I may or may not have an insulin resistance myself, but I DEFINITELY get carb cravings when I don’t eat a ton of them. So what this means is that we have to change our diet around. Someone who’s insulin resistant should eat protein, vegetables, and one serving of a carb item (like rice or pasta) for each meal.

I’ll be honest and say that in the past some of our meals consisted only of carbs. :( I don’t generally like meat. But I loooove carbs. Give me a good loaf of bread and some cold cereal and I’d be fine eating only that for a few days. That’s not good for John, however. (Or me, but that’s another story…)

So last night I made a meal that consisted only of protein and vegetables. No carb at all! You’d expect a meal like that to be boring and gross. (Or at least I would.) But it was delicious! What was it? Well, I drew on my knowledge of Bulgarian cuisine, and morphed it into: cabbage and chicken! Doesn’t sound good on paper, but it was delightful to eat. And low in calories and carbs. I am so proud of myself for creating this dish. I think we’ll be eating it fairly often…

can somebody tell me

Why did God invent PMS?

self-doubt and job woes

I think my job is changing completely, and I'm not sure if I should be excited or scared. I think I'll be learning the ins and outs of PeopleSoft, which could be a good thing. But at the same time, my workload could explode in the next little while, something I am not thrilled about.

I just wish I knew if we were moving in 8 months. If we aren't, then job searching would be my top priority. If we are, I just don't feel right about taking a new job and then leaving six months later. That's not fair to the new employer.

So what I'll do is get all the skills and training I can from this three-month PeopleSoft project. By then, I'll know more about our future, and I can use my new skills toward getting a good job that I like.

In other news, I'm feeling insecure about taking the creative writing class. Mostly I'm insecure about my writing. The thought of reading it out loud in a classroom terrifies me! I'm on the verge of dropping the class, but I know I'll regret it if I do. I can do this, right?

beautiful things

I have a beautiful wedding ring. My husband picked well. And although I told him to spend only a reasonable amount on the ring, he didn't listen to me. As a result, I wear a gorgeous ring on my finger every day.

Even the jewelers, who see flashy jewelry all the time, react to my ring. I picked it up from the jeweler yesterday after having it cleaned, and the jeweler gasped when he opened the box. They always have that reaction to my ring. He said, "Wow. You are lucky."

Yes, I am. And he has no idea how much. Because guess what? The size or price of a wedding ring doesn't say much about the quality of the marriage or of the devotion of the man who gives it to you. So it is lucky indeed that I not only received one of the most beautiful rings ever (thanks, sweetie), but also married one of the best men I know.

Actually, I don't call it 'luck', I call it blessed. And I am.