My Spring/Summer in 60 Seconds for Super Speedy Readers

Due to incessant demands for me to post on my blog (no, of course I'm not exaggerating) I'm back once again. I'm sure many of you thought I was taking a summer hiatus from thinking. To the contrary, my thoughts have remained very active. Here's the proof:

New Addition: Cinco de Mayo was a joyous occasion for the Hollingshead family. My younger brother Zach got married to Liliana Sonntag in the Bountiful Temple. Contrary to popular belief that all older, single sisters feel jealousy/bitterness/sadness at the marriage of a younger sibling, I was genuinely happy for my brother. And Lili is great. :-)

New Addition II: Later in May, our family was once again blessed. This time in the form of little Zaycia who was adopted by my sister and brother-in-law. They were even there for the delivery. She is gorgeous, just like my other neice and two nephews. It puts a lot of pressure on the rest of us to have cute kids.

MJ: I have to admit that I was "affected" by the death of Michael Jackson. My first memory of him was at a neighbor's house watching him perform during the Superbowl halftime in '93. Later that day my sister Heather, my cousin Nathan and I walked home singing Heal the World at the top of our lungs. A couple of years later as an early teen (after I had gotten over New Kids on the Block) I became a fan of his music, listening to my sister's HIStory album over and over again. Since his death I have discovered some other great songs.

Harry Potter 6: Loved it. Unfortunately I couldn't remember anything from books 5, 6, or 7, so I re-read them. Fortunately, they were even better the second time around.

Lagoon: The day was HOT, so getting dumped on during Rattlesnake Rapids turned out to be a good thing despite my hair-gone-wrong problem. Wicked was, well, to use a modern phrase I think is stupid, wicked. We even rode it three times. I hadn't been there since Senior Sluff 2001. Good times!

Downer: It seems I can't run anymore without my knees hurting. Either my body is experiencing the effects of aging or I've got a torn meniscus. (Great word. Just thought I'd throw it in.) Either way, it ain't good news.

Milestones: August 17th marked four years home from my mission in Brazil. Yikes. August also meant only one year left to pay on my car. Yay! In addition, I have now had the same cell phone for three years. Yes, it's true folks. I just can't turn it in. And really, why should I?

Good Reads: I recently read Defender of the Faith: the B.H. Roberts Story and The Revised and Enhanced History of Joseph Smith by His Mother. I got some great insights into the early church period and also felt deep gratitude for those who stood firm by the Prophet Joseph's side during it all.

Of course there were many other doings and going-ons and thoughts and feelings during the summer, but I'll leave it at that.

Farewell to Winter

Since spring has officially sprung as of last week, I thought I would post a post about winter. Some people hate winter. My opinion is, you only hate winter if you don't take time to enjoy it. Driving in winter weather is its own category, separate from winter itself. Over a year ago, I decided I love winter. I took walks in the evening when snow covered everything, flakes fell softly to the ground, and the cold felt invigorating. One day I decided to build a snowman after it had just snowed. It turned into a snowbride, because I couldn't get the snow to pack into round mounds. This past winter, all of my family was home when Minersville got a great snowstorm. We went tubing up to the flood control which we hadn't done for a looong time. As you can see, I'm not actually wearing clothing meant for wet, snowy conditions, so when I got home I had a wet derriere and wet streaks down my jeans. Unfortunately, you can't see the awesome '80s, early '90s snowboots everyone is wearing. Spring and summer wouldn't be so wonderful if we didn't have winter to break things up. When I was walking for hours under the blazing sun of Teresina, Brasil I liked to imagine jumping in a pool or, even better, enjoying a nice walk during a snowstorm. So next winter, enjoy it.

Just a Stupid Thought

Does any else try to read the "word verification" things you have to type before you can post a comment like they're actually a word? My favorite one of all time is "horging." I think it means that sound you make when something gets stuck in your throat and you feel like you're choking and you try to get it to come back up. But that's just a guess . . .

Oh, Sweet Country of Ours

The morning of the inauguration I put my pajamas on (I had just come home from work) and snuggled under a blanket on my couch to watch a few hours of history in the making. I was pleased with the graciousness of out-going President Bush, somewhat disturbed by Aretha's "headdress" and her version of My Country 'Tis of Thee, and greatly satisfied with President Obama's inauguration speech. The most moving moment for me, however, was while the national anthem was being sung. I was so overwhelmed with patriotic feeling that I stood up in my pjs; put my hand over my heart; let a few tears sneak out; and felt extremely glad that no one else was home!

On to other things . . .

I find politics very funny at times. For example, the current news-hogging economic stimulus package. What I find humorous is that the Democrats in Congress are pouting and pointing fingers at their fellow Republican congressmen because not one of them supported the stimulus package. Well, uh, duh! Millions, if not billions, of dollars were going toward programs (some considered "social") that aren't in line with basic Republican principles . It's more of what Republicans don't want, so why be surprised and upset when they don't whole-heartedly welcome the package. To be fair, if situations were reversed, Republicans would be crying foul if Democrats weren't accepting their stimulus package. Democrats want money to go to the unemployed, the struggling middle and lower classes. Republicans want funding to create more jobs and to increase tax cuts. So whose philosophy is best for a struggling economy? Let me tell you this much: I have no idea. I'm no economist--I just like being amused by the finger-pointing and am thankful to live in a country where such political processes take place. :-)

Looking Back and Fulfilling Requests

A couple of weeks ago I talked with my friend Rena, and she suggested I get all of my photos organized. So I did. I finished the college years, but my high school pics are still at my parents' house, so they will have to wait. Because Emily asked me to post some pictures I decided I would--only they're not recent. I'm posting a few of the "college years" that are of significance to me. :-) Hope you enjoy looking back!!

This picture is significant for several reasons.

1. It's the only full shot of my retainer.

2. I never wear shorts that short anymore.

3. Emily and I loved to wear matching clothes.

The significance of this picture is that I was on a blind date with this guy, and we went to a Halloween Dance. We never danced with each other.


This picture is special because we actually had a real Christmas tree. It was pretty awesome. Besides that, we all look good.

This is our F.H.E. group eating at Big Jud's. Big Jud's is significant just because it's Big Jud's (check out the hamburgers). But actually it reminds me of the time I ate a chicken sandwich there, and later that night I deposited it in my kitchen sink. It wasn't too fun.