Post-Vacation Wrap-Up

My roommates should be getting back any time now. I can't exactly remember when they will be arriving, but in the spirit of the end of my "vacation" I've decided to do a list enumerating my accomplishments. I was thinking about this on the way home today and it seems I've accomplished quite a bit:

1. painted living room
2. painted kitchen
3. painted picket fence on kitchen wall
4. got a new sofa (this REALLY deserves its own post. hopefully I'll do that eventually).
5. learned that it's okay to have needs
6. practiced expressing my needs and desires in appropriate ways
7. celebrated my birthday
8. hosted a Christmas party
9. practiced piano almost every day (after setting it as a goal)
10. accidentally made about 4 gallons (literally) of koshari and ate all of it (except the half gallon I froze for later)
11. narrowly avoided being kissed against my will (that hasn't happened since high school)
12. went and saw a movie in the theater by myself for the first time ever
13. came to the sad, sad realization that despite my ardent devotion to him, Hugh Jackman has never been in a good movie (with the notable exception of XMen I & II). the London production "Oklahoma" (which was AWESOME) doesn't count since it wasn't technically a movie.
14. rearranged my bedroom (the chi keeps getting better and better!)
15. sorted out ANOTHER three trash bags of stuff to take to Goodwill (seriously, where does all this stuff come from?)
16. after months of trying not to be suspicious, the facts refused to be ignored any longer and I realized that someone I respect and like a lot (no one any of my blog readers know) is most likely having an affair. am very sad about it.
17. bought a hat to keep my ears warm. I think I might not have to wear a coat EVER this winter, although I realize this is not true.
18. dragged a 10-foot Christmas tree down four flights of stairs by myself. Swept four flights of stair immediately thereafter.
19. accidentally stole a yucca from the grocery store (I am going to take it back)
20. got a pair of ice skates. still need to use them
21. finally cleaned the cookie jar that had that incredibly moldy muffin in it. I think it had been there at least two months.
22. made two separate trips to Trader Joe's on two separate days and STILL didn't manage to buy their house brand of pasta. I didn't think they'd be out at 4:30. I was wrong. (Why, oh WHY, can we not get a second Trader Joe's in Manhattan?!! preferably on the west side. I'm tired of shlepping all the way to the lower east side every time i run out of peanut butter. and the cashiers always ask questions when I buy more than 10 jars at a time.)
23. Have you heard the expression "there are two seasons in housekeeping-- Easter grass and pine needles"? I have learned for myself that ridding the house of pine needles really does take an entire season.
24. bought my plane ticket to London! Yay! Feb 12-25!
25. once again rejoiced in my decision to leave the non-profit sector when my end-of-year bonus unexpectedly arrived in my checking account. I LOVE working in the for-profit industry!
26. stayed up until 5 am watching episodes of Jem on YouTube
27. successfully proposed the idea of an inauguration day party at work. Got myself put in charge of said party. (i'm not an obama fan, but i'm trying to be a good sport)
28. gave myself a rather nasty cut with a butter knife (yes, a butter knife)

Well! That turned out to be quit a list! I could probably think some more and come up with other accomplishments, but I'll end now.

And, because every good blog post should have one--a picture: For New Year's Eve I went to a great party in a neighborhood much more trendy than I usually haunt. this is us in the elevator on our way to the roof to see the fireworks. It was very windy and cold. But totally awesome fun.

My Christmas was very very lovely, thanks for asking

Once I got over the guilt of not going to visit my parents for Christmas (because really, as much as I HATE traveling during the holidays, I do love them more), I was able to have a really really delightful Christmas here in the city with friends.

I opened my apartment up for general merry-making around 3pm on Christmas eve. For me, merry-making is definitely going to involve baking, so I made an apple pie and rice pudding while my friends trinkled in. Around 6:00, I remembered that I wanted to get a Christmas tree, so I recruited two of the big, strong men from the festivities and took them with me to the tree stand three blocks away.

This was my plan: go up to them and with the full realization that they were desperate to get rid of their trees, see what sort of a tree they would give me for $5.

This is what happened: we go and the stand has been removed. BUT there are several trees left desolate on the curb. I don't want to steal said tree, so I offer to pay by yelling loudly "I want to buy a tree!! Anyone want my money?!! I have money I want to give you for a tree!!" The thing I love about Washington Heights is that no one thought this was odd behavior or stopped to look at me as they walked by. Figuring that I had done my best effort to be honest, we decided that it would be fine to take one. There were about 5 trees left and all of them were at least 10 feet tall. Luckily, I had just painted my apartment,and therefore knew that those measurements would fit within the perimeter of my ceilings. Unluckily, that meant we had to carry the huge tree (which had been sitting in the rain for about two days) the three blocks to my apartment and then up four flights of stairs. One of the big strong men I had brought along to help had a broken leg, so it was up to the other fellow and me (in my Tommy Hillfiger jacket) to carry the soaking mess home. Even I was shocked by my lack of muscle strength--I was pretty much pooped after 1.5 blocks. Luckily, the gimp had the excellent idea of calling back up to my apartment for backup and so two fresh strong men showed up to carry it the rest of the way.

We got home and left the tree in the hall to drip while we went to my favorite Dominican restaurant Malecon for Christmas Eve dinner. (do you like my Christmas-y outfit? I wore it to work too.)

And there was a Christmas miracle--even though they were out of their super-yummy rotisserie chicken, our waiter found us one!!! And the seven of us ate very well--chicken, pork, rice, bean, yucca and plantains for only $7 each. I love Malecon.

Then we went home to eat dessert and decorate our tree before heading out to midnight mass. Only I didn't have a tree stand or any decorations. We propped our huge tree up in the corner and The Other Holly spear-headed the effort to make ornaments--people cut out snowflakes and cut up cards with pretty pictures. It was so great! I was simply overwhelmed with the Christmas spiriting watching everyone make our own decorations for the tree (I was busy in the kitchen and did not participate, but was still able to bask in the glow). We even had a lovely star made out of an old cereal box and some aluminum foil. Good, old-fashion ingenuity. Here is a picture of me and the tree. I'm guessing this was Christmas morning: Man, I LOVED that tree. I was very sad when I had to throw it out to make room for my new sofa, but that's another story. (in this photo, you can also see a sneak preview of my new living room color)

Then we went to midnight mass at St. John the Divine, which I believe is the largest cathedral in NYC. The ceremony was very lovely and very long. Half hour longer than a session of general conference, to be exactly. But the interior of the building was very beautiful (this picture doesn't do it justice) and of course, it's always really heart-warming to spending Christmas eve with so many fellow believers. Towards the end, they turned off the lights and everyone lit a candle we'd been given at the beginning and we sang Silent Night. It was just wonderful.

Then we went back to my house and stayed up chatting until about 5 am. I laughed that my weekly alarm to call and wake up a fellow temple worker at 4:30 Thursday morning went off as I was getting ready to go to bed.

I woke up in the morning and made breakfast for everyone. I don't know what I did to make those hash browns so yummy, but I suspect cocaine must have been involved.

My original plan had been to kick everyone out by 11am on Christmas and spend the day in solitude and reflection, but my guests were all so charming and amusing that they talked me into spending the day with them.

I felt like eating a hot dog, so we all went to Gray's Papaya. I have not eaten any meat since about April. Those of you who are familiar with my history probably know that I LOVE hot dogs and one of the reasons I moved to Manhattan was to be near Gray's Papaya. Since turning vegetarian and then vegan, I've always said that if I really feel like eating meat, eggs, cheese, etc I would, so I decided I should go ahead and do it: It was every bit as tasty as I remember.

We went to see Seven Pounds (boring, but as I reflect more they were obviously doing a subliminal pro-vegan campaign, which is intriguing).

I got home around 7pm that night. I was sitting on the floor checking my email when I heard the Christmas tree russeling in the corner. I looked over at it and it FELL ON TOP OF ME. I was stunned and was unable to extricate myself for several minutes, largely because I was laughing so hard. Eventually I regained my composure and was able to wriggle out from under the rather large, heavy tree and then pull it back up against the wall. My robe got pine sap on it and some pine needles got into my keyboard, but other than that--none the worse for the wear.

I went to bed early with breathless anticipation of shopping until I dropped the next day, but that is a story for another day.

All in all, I think it was one of my best Christmases ever. I think the time spent hand-making the ornaments for our tree will be a Christmas moment that I remember with joy the rest of my life. I'm so thankful to have such great people to spend the holiday with, even when I'm not close to my family.

29 is a magic number

Subtitle: better report on my birthday before Christmas

About three weeks ago, I said to myself "My birthday is coming up. What shall I do to celebrate?" Then I decided I would do ANYTHING that I wanted to do. If I wanted to to to Spain, I would go to Spain. If I wanted to eat steak all day, I would. After removing all restrictions and thinking about it very hard, I decided I wanted to spend the day painting my apartment. This, I figured, would not only get something I've been excited about done, but also goes with my "new apartment, new life" theory, I figured I would start 29 out strong.

For some reason, I decided I needed a birthday self-potrait. That was silly enough, and I have no idea why the ham sandwich I"m posting it here, but I can't stop myself.
Don't judge the photo too harshly--it was 4:30 AM and I'd only had three hours of sleep because while I was laying in bed at 11:30 I'd decided I wanted to make peanut butter chocolate chip muffins for my temple shift. I'm not sure how a lack of sleep can change the shape of one's face, but I'm hoping very much that I don't usually look like that.

I worked my shift at the temple and went to work. We celebrated all the December birthdays on my birthday. Yum!

I left early and went home to paint. That day I got the taping out the edges, priming, and half of the living room done.

Richard and Becca came over for dinner and to keep me company while painting. Richard brought very tasty Indian food and Becca brought a very yummy homemade vegan birthday cake. Becca, Richard, and I met our freshmen year at college. So the celebration that evening was a combined birthday and ten year anniversary party. It was really nice.

My two very favorite presents:

My dear friend from high school Jamie sent me a Republican themed birthday package, the highlight of which is the above-pictured Ronald Reagan pen. I love it!

My parents sent me money with which I bought two glass pie pans (are you as shocked as I was to discover that I didn't already have some?) and this totally awesome welcome mat which rocks my world It makes me so happy! For example, yesterday when I was leaving to do my laundry I thought "Yay! When I get back, I'll get to see my door mat!" That, my friend, is joy.

So, all in all, it was a great day. As I spend several hours alone painting and thinking, I had an unbelievable amount of insights and discoveries about myself that were really soul-shaking. I know this is going to be the best year yet!

New Neice!

The adoption was finalized this morning so I'm an aunt again! Introducing to the world: Ashley Ann Herron

Here is an up-closer picture so you can truly appreciate her cuteness.


Ann and Josh never expected to adopt a non-infant, but this gift from God practically fell in their lap. The adjustment for all is going well and I know things are going to be great. The hearts of our family are very very thankful to Heavenly Father's loving kindness to us and to this precious little girl.

My first vlog

A vlog is a video blog. I was in one back in October 2006. For some reason, I just remembered it today and, since I just recently learned how to post videos on my blog, I've decided I"m going to post it. It is only mildly amusing, and it is super duper long, so I"m warning you, there's a good chance that you're not going to want to watch the whole thing. Or even part of it. I just want to post it and so I will because it's my blog and I can do that. Please keep in mind that this was more than two years ago.


My ex-roommate Megan (who has been married more than a year and now lives in Vegas) put it together. She is pretty much a computer movie editing superstar.

Christmas Vacation

Although I am scheduled to work on December 24th and 26th, today marked the first day of my own special Christmas Vacation.

Because even for someone as lucky as me to have such thoroughly delightful roommates, there is something completely magical about having the apartment all to myself for three weeks. Yippee!!!

I know things will be right where I left them. I don't have to worry about what time to get in the shower or if someone is going to drink all of my juice. No dirty dishes left in the sink!!! (I know, I know, that puts the "petty" in pet peeves, but it bugs me.) I can walk around in my underwear all day (my roommates are good sports about my compulsive underwear wanderings, but I do feel the need to exercise restraint when they might be around). There will be no mysteriously opened cabinets and closets. The shower thingie will always be down. I will play the piano whenever I want. I can use the blender (very important for vegan cooking) whenever I want. (Also, just FYI, I"m not really vegan anymore. I'm not a flexi-vegan who likes to avoid cheese but does eat it on occasion. I still like to vegan bake though.) I will still clean the apartment every night before going to bed, but it will only be my stuff I clean (to be honest, it was mostly my stuff even when the roomies were around). I will play music whenever I want. I can exercise in the living room morning, evening, night, whenever! Ah the joy and delight!!

Tomorrow I start the big paint project!! Hopefully I'll be able to get it all done in one day, but perhaps I"m being overly optimistic. Then I'm refinishing (this is perhaps not the right verb) a few spots on my bedroom floor and moving the bed to be in a better feng shui position. And I'm probably going to get a Christmas tree.

Ryan Simmons is my hero

If you only do one thing today, please watch the video below. It stars Ryan, a fellow in my congregation who is a comedic genius. It was put together by Collin Mapp, a fellow in my ward who, as far as I can tell from my limited exposure to his work, is a cinematic genius.

So watch. Enjoy. And share with your friends.
And to anyone within four hours of Manhattan--you do not want to miss Ryan's one-man Christmas show on the 17th.

Another One Bites the Dust

When Ashley moved into my apartment last June, she brought with her four basil plants. I was a bit skeptical because many plants had met their untimely death in my apartment. (Several, but not all of those stories have been recorded here on my blog.) But then I remembered that she's a farm girl and probably knows things I don't. It was true enough. For example: my previous plants had not gotten enough sunlight. My previous herbs had not gotten enough water. These seem like things I should have learned on Seasame Street, but somehow they had eluded me.

In September when Ashley decided flee the big city and return to her rural roots, she left the basil plants in my care. I figured all would be well--I would just keep up the same routine she had in place. For a while, I was doing pretty good. But now.... Well..... This is the end product: (please note, when I tried to save this photo on my computer so I could post it, I was told "The picture 'dead basil' already exists. Would you like to replace it?" How many different dead basil plants does one girl need save on her hard drive?)

In hindsight, I realize that I had been losing Ashley's basil plant at a steady rate of one per month. But the last remaining one had been doing so well! (Perhaps because Amelia had been in charge of his care for several days while I was out of town. He did look even perkier when I returned home.) He had gotten so big that by the time he died the whole thing could not be captured in my camera phone with enough details to also show that it had shriveled up and died.

The thing that surprises me is how quickly death came. One day it was fine, the next day it looked a little sick and the next day, it was gone. What did I do wrong? How did I fail my poor little basil? I even wrote and sang a song to Basil once I realized he was sick. Perhaps I didn't sing to him often enough. Or perhaps it was already too late. But even I was surprised at the emotion that sprang up as I sang: "You're going to live! Basil, you're going to live!! It's too soon, too soon to say goodbye." And then I would imagine Basil singing back to me: "Yes Holly, forbid me now to die! I'll obey! I will try..." But at the end, Basil, like Jean Valjean from whom I stole the song, died all the same.

So now I'm left trying to decide what to do. I NEED fresh basil for pasta sauces and my super yummy homemade salad dressing. But based on my past experience, if I bought fresh basil at the store and kept it in the fridge, it would last longer. I wonder if a chia pet herb garden would last longer. Maybe I should just plan on buying basil when I need it. That's what I do with cilantro, after all. But oh how I love the feeling of using an herb I grew myself! If my dreams of having a tomato plant cannot come to fruition, at least I should be able to cultivate an herb, right? What is up with my thumb of death? If I can't keep an herb alive how am I going to be able to take care of a husband? Or babies? I'm hoping these things do not require a similar skill set.

The rest of the story

Some of my regular readers might remember my post several weeks ago reporting on how I saved the world by reporting a suspicious smell coming out of a manhole.
I hadn't really thought anything about it until Saturday night when I ran into my associate Jon S., director of the LDS Institute of Education for the New York City region. I will report on the conversation:

Jon: Did you ever hear what happened when you phoned in that gas leak?
Holly: I don't think anything--a ConEd truck came and was there the rest of the night.
Jon: Well, a few days later they tore up the whole street and replaced lots of pipe.
[at this point I remember that Jon's office is in the church building where I reported the smell so he would be intimately familiar with repercussions caused by my call]
Jon: It must have been a million dollar construction project. Good thing you called. Your civic duty has been done.

So I guess the title I unofficially gave myself several years ago holds true--
Holly Bluemlein: Hero to Millions

I will consider that all my personal taxes for the rest of my life will be going towards that project.
(pic photo shopped by my talented sister Heather)

Something Christmas is not good for

Just so you know--

now is not the best time to be doing a decorating project because all things that could possibly be considered of use to human kind (book shelves, welcome mats, paper lanterns, shelf liner, even yoga mats) have been cleared out of all the stores (Kmart, Crate and Barrel, Pier 1, Home Depot, The Container Store, etc) to make room for cheesy Christmas decorations.