Tomatoes...Not so scary...

Many of you know of the utter disgust I have (nay, HAD) for tomatoes. They were by far my least favorite food ever! One distinct memory I have of my childhood is one where my dad tried to get me to eat a cherry tomato. The more I refused the more it egged him on. The next thing I remember I was locked out of my house (by my mom) while my dad chased me around the freezing cold outside with a cherry tomato. I think that is the single worst thing my dad ever did to me. Over the past 24 years he just kept telling me that he didn't like tomatoes until he was called on a mission to Italy.. Yeah yeah yeah... Well I don't live in Italy so there was no need for me to eat tomatoes! Well... The other day I went to get lunch at scholozskys deli (one of my favorite things about Denver) and I accidentally forgot to ask for no tomato on my sandwich. I was about to open my sandwich and take it off but then a little voice in my head told me to man up and try the tomato! So I did! I didn't throw up, didn't take it off, and most importantly I didn't hate it! I know most of you Probably think this is something silly to blog about but blogs are made for important events in your life..and this my friends is a milestone! (did I mention I have the greatest husband on earth who happens to be giving me a foot rub right now? That's right.)

Best Job EVER!

I just wanna give a shout out to the best place of employment and Co-workers a girl could ever ask for!  My family at Wasatch Mental Health and particularly The American Fork Family Clinic are some of the best people I will ever know.  I have been a part of Wasatch since I was 15 wee years old when I worked as a summer worker organizing storage rooms and laminating things.  When I graduated from high school I started as a part time receptionist in the Provo Youth Outpatient.  I worked there for about a year then quit to move to Alaska for the summer.  I left knowing that there may not be a job for me when I returned that fall but lo and behold there was!  The full time secretary in American Fork Youth Outpatient had just quit so I applied for her job and got it!  I worked there for about 9 months before I quit to do my cosmotology apprenticeship.  When I started the apprenticeship I needed a night job so I worked at Target for three months before there was an evening receptionist opening in Provo.  So I worked in the Adult Outpatient until I was finished with my apprenticeship.  When I finished I really didn't want to leave but I needed a full time job really bad.  Well  Heavenly Father was seriously on my team because as soon as I finished up there was a full time opening in American Fork which was now the American Fork Family Clinic, serving youth and adults.  Now here I am, almost 24 and have been at AFFC for the last 2 1/2 years.   I have made so many good friends in all the different departments I have worked in.  But over the years this clinic in American Fork became my baby and I have seen it grow from a staff of 5 to about 30.  I have made more memories and friends here than I ever thought possible at one job.  I have been so blessed to be a part of this amazing team of therapists, case managers, secretaries, nurses, and doctors!  I can honestly say that I very rarely, if ever, dreaded going into work.  I felt at home and happy when I was there.  AFFC was my second family and helped me grow so much.  These people's job is to make other peoples' lives better, and I will tell you one thing... they made my life so great!  I admire them and look up to them so much and hope they know how much I appreciate them and miss them! 

Just a whole lot of Gratitude!

This post had to wait for about a week for me to right because of the crazy emotions that came with this bitter-sweet goodbye.  I have to say I have the best best best best friends and family in this world! Leaving Utah was most definitely the hardest things I've had to do but I could not have asked for better support system while taking this step.  On the Sunday before I left my lovely friends Carissa and Tiffany threw us a stellar going away party!  It was the best party/reunion EVER!  I am so blessed to have such amazing friends who have always cared so much and would come out to see us off!  This post is going to have many pictures and many captions so feel free to not read is all if you don't want, truthfully this is more for my benefit.

Brig is sad.  Brig and I have been friends for many many moons, I actually don't even remember how long.  He has brought so much laughter and smiles to all of us and we never don't laugh when we are with him and Jessica!

Kristi and Chelsea! These girls light up my life! They are both so full of life and love adventure! We have had some great times together and have made some amazing memories!  I grew up with Chelsea and I met Kristi in high school.  I am so glad I have these girls in my life to cheer me up and always have a nice thing to say.  They are seriously two peas in a pod and bring out the best in everyone!

Faith!! I have been so blessed to have this girl in my life.  She is a great example that first impressions don't mean a thing! She is the greatest person to walk the earth and I just with everyone had the chance to be her friend!  She is the strongest person I know and I am so glad she found someone as wonderful as Bryce!

The Mullen's!! We love these crazy kids to death!  Meghan and Ryan have been a big part of Woody's life and I am so glad he has stayed friend with this family!  Not only was I able to have my reception in their beautiful backyard because of Woody, but I was able to get to know their family better and fall in love with all of them! We are so excited for Ryan and Marissa to get married in April!

Bobbi and Dave! Dave and I met in 8th grade and had science together.  We have been friends ever since and have had a lot of good times together (that may involve a random smashing of a pinata in a park). Dave is an extremely loyal friend and a great example to everyone around him!

Justin, John and Roland! These boys have been some of the best friends a girl could ask for.  They have been like brothers to me and I have always been able to tell them anything!

Shippen and I have been friends since 7th grade and shares my love of Saved By The Bell!  No one else knows the gang like she does!  She has always been such a great friend and is better than anyone at staying in touch.  I absolutely love this girl and am so grateful for her friendship!

Amber is the SAWEETEST girl in the world.  This girl doesn't have a mean bone her body.  She would give you the shirt off her back at any given moment.  She is the most Christlike person I know and is an amazing example to me.  Amber is down to earth, loyal, honest and super funny! Seriously everyone needs an Amber in their lives! 

Nephi Nephi Nephi... I don't even know where to start with this guy.  If it weren't for him I wouldn't me married to the Woodster.  Nephi and I became friends through his cousin Matt.  When Matt went on his mission I never really saw or talked to Nephi, until one day when totally out of the blue he started chatting me on facebook where I invited him to a bonfire.  He brought Woody with him and the rest is history.  He has been by our side through thick and thin. We could not ask for a better best friend.  He is a huge part of our lives and we would not be who we are without him.  He is the most loyal, giving person I know.  I am so grateful for Nephi, I owe so much to this man!

 The Greers! I somehow lost the picture of us from the party but I couldn't go without a shout out to them.  Casey and I have been best friends since 7th grade.  He was the man of honor at my wedding and was my person before I med my husband.  The two biggest fears in my life were that he wouldn't like who I married and I wouldn't like who he married.  I could not be happier about who he married! Kristin seriously completes him! They are so perfect for each other!  Casey and Kristin will always be a part of our lives, I learned so much from being friends with Casey and he will always be one of my very best friends!

 Carissa and I met many, many years ago I think during our Sophomore year.  I actually heard about her a lot before I met her and I won't lie, it made me a wee bit jealous. I worked and Teddy Bear Builders (yes I was the shiz) and two of my friends came in to make a monkey for her because she had gotten surgery.  It peeved me a little because they were MY friends!  Then we ended up at a high school dance together where I am sure she glared at me but she denies it to this day!  The moral of this story is that first impressions don't mean a dang thing!  She has been one of the best friends I have ever had!  Through laughter and tears and boys and girls she has always had my back.  We just get each other and are always thinking the same thing.  She would do absolutely ANYTHING for any of her friends and is one of the best people I know! And she made this party happen!

Amander! This little lady I have known longer than pretty much anyone.  We went to elementary school together where my only memory of her was in forth grade when she wouldn't stop talking so Mr. Herrmann send her into the hall to write 'I will not distrupt the class' 50 times.  Seemed like a hard thing to do but Amanda was used to it...and a 6th grader taped two pencil together so she could write to lines at a time.  We reunited in high school and hung out on and off, but after high school we became somewhat inseparable.  After a couple of years of hanging out she ended up marrying my friend Mike which made her even greater!  Right after they got married Amanda got a job as a receptionist at my work.  So for the last two years Amanda and I have worked about 4 feet from each other.  We have had good times, bad times, sad times, and hilarious times together.  I saw her more than my husband and she probably knows more about me than she wants to.  She is one of the strongest people I know and my life would be so much more dull without Amander!  I am so excited for her and Mike to welcome Jack in August!! WOOHOO!!

Tiffers!! What would I do without this girl?  I am so glad that we stalked each others facebook and wait for it...myspace the summer I went to Alaska.  When I got home and met her I had no idea that it would take off to the best friendship in the world!  Tiffany and I have had the best days of our lives together.  She has always had my back and has been the most loyal person in the world to me even when I have wronged her.  Tiff and I have cried until we laughed and laughed until we cried.  She was next to me at every important moment in my life.  We have had so many good times together that I wouldn't trade for the world.  She has been the best concert buddy, festival of colors buddy, bon fire buddy, shopping buddy, eating out buddy, party buddy, movie buddy, and lets just sit in my room and talk buddy I could ever ask for!  She has been as been super supportive of me but also told me when I was being an idiot.  She loves her friends, her family, and life with a kind of love everyone should get to be a part of.  She is the most giving person I know and I wouldn't be the person I am without her positive influence in my life.  I am so grateful for the best friend that she is to me and I plan on many more good times with her!

Dam Angie!  I don't even know where to start.  Well it started on a dam.  The summer after our sophomore year.  And we have been besties ever since.  Angie has brought more tears to my eyes (in a good way) then almost anyone.  She is seriously the funniest, most outgoing person I know.  We have done so much together I wouldn't even know where to start.  From canoeing, fishing, hiking, bon firing, swimming in glacier water, Angie saving me from glacier water, Angie sacrificing herself and almost being killed by a homeless guy just go get me a taco, high school dances, jazz games, and party after party after party, I would never ever replace the great memories we have made together!  We have laughed together and embarrassed ourselves together a million and one times!  Angie is full of adventure and always wants to try new things.  She has always cared so much about me and my family and has been like a sister to me.  I have loved living in the same condo complex as her and Roland the last six months and will be sad to not have her in the building next door anymore.  I am so grateful for her!  Dam friends forever!

I am so excited to start this new phase of our life together.  I am so madly in love with this man and am the luckiest girl in the world to be married to him!  He is so ambitious and is always striving to be the best person and husband he can be, and he out does himself every day! I am so eternally grateful that I met him and for the experiences we have had together and all that is yet to come!

The Organ Loft

This year for Christmas, Woody's parents gave us a date night to the Organ Loft with them over the Valentine's day weekend. This place is a little hole in the wall in Salt Lake where all the old people around come out to dance their little hearts out, and that they did!! We were way young compared to pretty much everyone there but it was so cute to see these super old couples still so in love! We also had delicious potatoes and... not so delicious everything else.  Then we danced with the elderly! It was really fun!

 My cute sister-in-law Brittney and her Boyfriend Travis came with us.

 Me and my cute cute hubs!

My awesome in-laws!

Happy Birthday DADDY!

Just a shout out to the best man in the world! My dad turned 55 today and has more life in him than you could ever believe! He is always out biking, skiing, snow shoeing, you name it!  He is the most generous person I know and would do anything for anyone! He has always been the best example of Christlike love.  He is a very forgiving person and always willing to give people second chances.  He believes in people and has always believed in me and supported me in all of my decisions.  I would in no way be the person I am today without his influence in my life.  He has always taught me what is most important in life and to always follow my dreams.  I love you daddy!  Thanks for everything you have done for me throughout my life.  I hope someday I can be the kind of parent you have been to me.  I could have never asked for a better example!

Most Magical Date of My Life!

This weekend I found myself saying the word, "I can't wait to blog about this!"  And I said it more than once!  I can't believe I am actually excited to blog now!  But after you hear about this date, you will understand why.
Woody had told me earlier in the week and he wanted to go on a Skype date on Friday night, so let me take you back to my last post, I was sitting at work and I received a lovely bouquet of flowers from my cute husband.  The card told me to text a code word to a certain number to receive my plans for the night.  So I texted the code word to the number which happened to be Nephi.  Then came the first text, "Congratulations! Tonight will consist of fun, laughter, and a few wrong turns.  What time will you be done with the girls?"  I texted back 9:00 and to which he replied, "I want you to text me when you are done.  Until then, 'Stay hungry, stay foolish' -Steve Jobs'" Okay so you can imagine how confused I was at this point.  Anyway, my sisters and I went to dinner and Paradise Bakery then went shopping at the Norstrom Rack and South Town.  When we were done we were talking about going to get ice cream before I went home.  But I texted Nephi and told him I was done so I could get the next text.  He replied with, "Tell me when you are done with ice cream"  Which immediately told me that my sisters were involved because I didn't tell him anything about ice cream. After ice cream he told me that my sisters had the rest of the night planned out for me.  So here I am thinking okay that is cute, he wants me to have a fun night with my sisters before our date.  Emily read off the first text from Woody, "go to Walmart and get facial and pedicure stuff and go back to Emily's to treat yourself." So that we did!

After we papered ourselves, Emily read the next text from Woody, "Go back to Walmart and buy some Walmart sexy lingerie and a six pack of your favorite drink for our Skype date tonight" I won't lie, I griped a little bit because it was late and cold and we were JUST at Walmart!  But we did it anyway.

Then came the next text, "Play 3 rounds of UNO".  Man he knows me so well!  I love UNO! So we played 3 rounds of UNO and Holly won ALL THREE!

  

The last text of the night came around 12:30 am.  It said, "watch an episode of How I Met Your Mother of Emily and Holly's choice"

I was super excited about this even though I was SO tired and really wanted to go home and talk to Woody.  So we watched a great episode from season three where Lily and Marshall talk about how whenever one of them is picked up they bring a six pack of beer for the other.  Super cute right?  I starting thinking how Woody is super sentimental because of the previous text about the six pack.  So the episode ends and I get up and gather my stuff to leave.  As I am about to walk out the door with my cute lingerie and my six pack of root beer..................

WOODY RAN THROUGH THE DOOR!!!

It was by far the BEST surprise I've ever gotten!!! Come to find out, when he told me earlier in the night that he had to push back our date because of work, he was actually on an airplane on his way back to Utah.  He called Emily while we were at Nordstrom when she was in the dressing room and told her he was coming home and they needed to stall as long as possible because of all the snow in Denver.  My sisters did a great job distracting me and keeping me entertained! Big shout out to them!
It was the most magical date of my life!!!

Flowers on a Friday

SO...I have the greatest husband in the world. This is your chance to stop reading if you don't want to hear how much I love him. So he went to Colorado last Saturday and won't be back until next Friday...sad day right?  Well it hasn't been THAT bad thanks to skype and my lovely parents who so kindly opened up their guest room for me so I wouldn't have to be lonely and bored at my house.  So back to how great Woody is... I was just sitting at work today, totally bored out of my mind and who should walk in the door but a nice gentleman from Lehi Floral holding a beautiful bouquet of roses and lillies! I would post a picture but I am not THAT good at blogging yet.  And I am at work so I can't.  But they are beautiful! I have the most thoughtful husband on the planet!

In other business... I decided to quit my job a month earlier than planned and move to Colorado with Woody instead of waiting til March and not living with him for 3 more weeks.  Good plan?  I think so!