Goodbye, Black with a chance of Cheetah!

The day has come. This site has lived a good life, but it's time for bigger and better things.

Hello, Danakin Skywalker.

I will posting at this new site and will no longer be updating this blogspot.

Please hop over to DanicaHoldaway.com to subscribe to the new feed and join me on this bona fide internet adventure!

Dear Danica: A Reminder

My schedule has definitely intensified over the past few weeks - I have 2 more committee meetings taking up time after school, at least an hour or two of reading and writing each night for my Masters, roughly 3-4 hours per week for my new calling in Young Womens, regular chores/laundry/gym/cooking etc, and spending all my extra time working on my new blog update (to be revealed soon!).

{Also today and tomorrow I'll be working 13 hour days for Parent-Teacher Conferences - thankfully I get Friday off though!}

I'm not complaining. This is not only 100% normal and doable, but also way less than most supermoms tackle in a single DAY. It just means I have to prioritize and plan much more than I usual do. I'm now hyper-aware of when and where I'm spending my hours.

A few days ago I opened up my bloglovin to find hundreds of unread posts, some most for blogs I haven't caught up on in a month or more. 

Then I opened Twitter to scroll through and see tweets from people that I had to stop and ask "Wait. Who is this? Is this a blogger? Random person I followed back? Douchey guy from high school that just subtweets girl problems?"

Next it was Instagram, to much the same effect. "Who is this girl? I don't even like her outfit. Why can I see more boobs than your face, sweetie? Why am I following 100 random small fashion companies?"

I have a stack of 3 books I've checked out from the library and started, but not finished. 

I publish my little brother's letters on a blog and post them on his Facebook and Twitter to make the posts accessible to his friends to keep in touch. I noticed that MY BABY BROTHER, who isn't even in the continental US or tweeting regularly has almost 500 followers. 

I've been working on my blog update and thinking a lot about the type of blogger I want to be and if I'm the type to ever have hundreds of followers or sponsors or the whole shebang. How much do I really care about the internet? What does it mean for my life?

So this is a reminder to you, Danica Holdaway. Because you forget this all the time. 

It's ok to unfollow tweeters you find boring and Instagrammers you find slutty.

It's ok if people unfollow you or don't follow you in the first place. It's about quality, not quantity. Don't compromise your humor, beliefs or personality for a number. 

It's ok to not read the "IT" blogs that everyone seems to love. Sometimes things just aren't for you.

It's ok if you don't feel the desire to sponsor or be sponsored. 

It's ok if you don't post every day or even every week. This is YOUR blog, not anyone else's.

It's ok if you don't read all the blog posts each day. They'll survive.

It's ok if you don't think of something hilarious or cute every single day. Absence makes the heart grow fonder or something?

It's ok to blow off an hour to just read, or nap, or Pinterest. Your head will explode if you don't.


Take a breath, Danica. Blogging is weird and kind of stupid, but fun. That's all it needs to be. 

Let those Instagram, Twitter and Facebook icons rest. Social Media is awesome, but shouldn't be a chore. 

Be yourself and let the internet world work for YOU, not the other way around. 


Incidentally, I love all you readers. You make my life better and I love you. I love you! Thanks for everything. You keep me going and keep me inspired. Big hugs coming through this screen for you. 

xoxo Gossip Girl/Danica

My Happiness Project: Week Six

I had to be really secret this week. I had to employ like super secret agent moves.

Motherhood

For the record: NOT PREGNANT. Not even a little pregnant. Not even baby hungry yet.

But I did want to learn a little more about pregnancy and motherhood since the only things I know I learned from The Office and Baby Mama. I'm getting to the point where the baby aisles at Target don't make me physically sick, so that's good. But I still don't know anything about babies, ultrasounds, infant care, onesies, bath time, car seats... wow this list just keeps getting longer.

-Read up!
--So I sneak-attack put a bunch of books on hold and I wore my trenchcoat and sunglasses to go pick them up at off-hours at the library. I didn't really wear the trenchcoat but I was very sneaky and fast. I don't need to run into students or friends when I have an armload of maternity-info books. I also delved into a lot of the blog posts "348 Things You Need To Know As A Complete Moron Getting Pregnant For The First Time" that I've pinned over time.

-Watch up!
--I watched The Science of Babies on Netflix - fascinating. I even got The Beard to watch What to Expect When You're Expecting with me! He's probably less scared of babies than I am, actually. He's great with babies and little kids - unless they're our niece Lillie who is still terrified of his big black beard.

-Think about what type of mother I'd like to be
-- The biggest thing that I walked away with is "Take a breath, Danica. People have been doing this for thousands of years. Millions of people didn't read books, and watch documentaries, and ask every person on the street about pregnancy. Millions of people! And overall, pregnancy for them is still ok. If the idiots on 16 and Pregnant can do this, I'm pretty sure I can do this. Also multiple people told me that I'd need to drink a bathtub's worth of Diet Coke a day in order for it to hurt any baby I was carrying, so even though I drink an obscene amount, I'm not scratching that surface. That really helped my fears. I won't have to give up Diet Coke!!!

Blog

- Get a "real" blog URL
- Got it. Execpt The Beard got it for me on this weird site and we're still working on getting it linked up to host this blogspot. Get excited for that to come up.

-Make it look cuter.
-- Working on a new logo/name. Added an Instagram feed. Rearranged. I'm creating tabs and pages like a real deal blog. And I'm working on a few new buttons. There's not a lot to show for this right now. But it's still coming. Promise.

- Learn how "real" blogs operate.
-- No surprise - I checked out a bunch of books, read a bunch of posts (Especially Bon's. So helpful) and started mapping out where I want my blog to go. I really have never even TRIED with my blog. I've done a couple of things that friends have asked - giveaways, hosting, guest posts, etc. But I've never really done anything with my blog. But I'm ready to be more real. Blog more regularly, interact more in the blogging world, be a "real" blogger. Who knows. Maybe we'll even get to a sponsorhip phase. I still don't really know what that is. But it sounds cool. Dreamin big over here.

Coming Soon - my overall view of my Happiness Project. Acceptable social media posts when you're pregnant. Annoying stuff Bloggers do. More things that I realized/got bugged by when I did my Happiness Project.

My Happiness Project: Overview
My Happiness Project: Week One
My Happiness Project: Week Two
My Happiness Project: Week Three
My Happiness Project: Week Four
My Happiness Project: Week Five

Liebster Award! + 11 Random Danica Facts

My sweet friend Tayler from my study abroad/teaching tagged me in the Liebster Award. Like a year ago and I'm finally getting around to it. Thanks/sorry Tayler!

"Liebster" means dearest in German, and it's awarded, blogger to blogger, to up-and-coming blogs with less than 200 followers.  The rules for accepting and giving the award are pretty simple.  Once you accept the award, you just have to do the following in a blog entry:

Answer the 11 questions posted by the nominator on her blog

Give 11 facts about yourself

Nominate 5-11 other new, up-and-coming blogs with less than 200 followers

Make up 11 more questions to pass on to the bloggers you choose to nominate

Thank your nominator by linking back to her blog

Upon your post going live, contact your nominees about your nomination for them

1) What made you start blogging?

I had to create my blog for my Instructional Technology class at BYU, and kept it because I was going to Wales that summer and wanted to share my pics/adventures with family and friends at home. I'm so glad I did because I go back and re-read those posts all the time for fun!

2) What is your blogging dream?

Blogging dream.... I'm not sure.  I like fashion blogging, but I'm not really aiming to BE a fashion blogger. I like new readers but I'm not really trying too hard to get new readers. What I really love my blog for is writing - I love to write and I think it's a strength of mine.  I guess I'd just really love to be able to reach a lot of people (What constitutes "a lot"? 300? 500? 1000? Idk) and have people laugh and enjoy it. I'd even like to land a writing job with my blog. 

3) What is your dream job, and do you have it/are you working toward it? 

As listed above - writing. Particularly about Utah culture/trends/observation/fashion. I would also quit my job on the spot to become a personal shopper or stylist. Need a new change? Take me shopping with you for a day and let me take you to all the stores and choose stuff for you. PLEASE. I want to. So bad. 

4) What are you a junkie of?

The Office. Diet Coke. Popcorn. Pinterest. 

5) Since I'm a teacher, what was your favorite subject in school? Why?

English or History depending on the year. Figures right? I love reading, writing and learning about other people. 

6) What is your favorite book? Why?

Obviously Harry Potter (all of them). But I think that kind of can't count because they are everyone's favorites. Pride & Prejudice & Zombies is probably my other favorite. I love P&P like any woman, but the zombie addition is literally the greatest, most Danica combination that exists, ever.

7) Name a country you want to visit from every continent.

North/Central America - Mexico
South America - Brazil
Europe - Italy
Asia - Japan, since my baby bro will be in Fukuoka for 2 years!!
Australia - duh. 
Africa - Morocco
Antarctica - I'd rather not.  

 8) What are all the languages you speak (real or fake, fluent or not)

I took 4 years of Spanish. Loved it. Don't remember much.

9) What is the most annoying thing people do?

Just a few weeks ago my students had to turn in their final projects, and I had some CRAZY freaking moms defending their children for cheating and doing their projects for them. So I think I'd have to say coddling and ignoring children. They need you so bad parents! They need you to be good examples. They need you to let them grow and learn from their own mistakes. But they also need you to step in and correct their behavior when it is bad. The most annoying thing people do is act selfishly as parents.

10) What are three interesting things in your house?

Baby Buddha - The Beard and Glen hate it. They both bark at it routinely. 

Storm Trooper Steve - My Valentine's Day present

Apollo  - Blog post to explain this is forthcoming.  

11) What is your favorite post that you've done in the past year?

Probably my post about Finals. Or my post about the high school teacher who lied to the whole school about my brother having an ecstasy party. Both super snarky and angry. I guess that's kind of my thing.

And now.... 11 facts about me:

1. I love sports and played soccer/softball/basketball pretty much always, but I'm really a girly girl. I love makeup. Birchbox is my new favorite thing - each month they send you a bunch of beauty product samples and it's like a mini-Christmas. I love it so much I signed up for the makeup counterpart Ipsy and I'm waiting for my first box now!

2. I've got zombies on the brain especially now because I am signed up to run the Zombie Chase 5k in Eureka on Saturday! The Zombies Run! app is how I'm training. :)

3. The Beard says everyone has their "gospel hobby" where they feel comfortable in the church. Mine is the scriptures.

4. I'm a side sleeper.

5. Glen is also a side sleeper and he likes for me to be the little spoon so he can be the big spoon. We cuddle all night. You're dying of the cuteness right now, aren't you?

6. Everyone thinks because I play sports I must be outdoors-y. I hate camping.

7. I forget about my blog for weeks at a time. Like I literally don't think about it.

8. I'm a really happy person, generally. My moods don't swing too much. But when I finally allow myself to be really sad about things, I spend way too many hours in bed with the Office and I wallow. I'm a wallower.

9. I'm a Pinterest whore. And I mean that in a good way. I actually use all of my boards on Pinterest, believe it or not. And I have several categories. Check it out. Be impressed.

10. I almost died when I was born. The doctors told my mom I was probably going to be slow. It's also why my eye does the crazy things it does beyond my control.

11. I used to tell people my name was Vanessa when I was little because I thought my name was weird and Vanessa was a pretty name for pretty little brunette girls. Grass is always greener, right?

Ok so here are my friends that I've tagged.

Eliesa from BE Here and There (to get her back into blogging - we've all been waiting patiently!)
Katie from Silver Linings. She's a big fancy NY girl now.
Katie from These are the Days - gym buddy and puppy mama like me.
Nichole from The Keeles - a fellow Office lover and blog friend that I've never met. Let's fix that.
Karlie from The Mitchell Family - soon to be mama of twins!

Alright ladies. Answer these questions or else.

1. Who is your favorite Office character?
2. What are you the most proud of in your life?
3. What books should all of us be reading at the pool this summer?
4. What beauty product can you not live without?
5. Where is your favorite secret place to shop (physical or online store)?
6. What is your best piece of marriage advice?
7. When you are stressed and just want to fast forward life to happier times, what do you do?
8. What is your favorite blog that you HAVE to read every day?
9. I finally have an iPhone. What are your favorite apps that I should go for?
10. What is your favorite workout to get in shape?
11. Favorite obscure YouTube videos... Go!

Sometime, Always, Never - How to Not Be an Idiot in the Blogosphere

Ok so this Sometimes, Always, Never isn't about a fashion faux pas. Sorry. But this topic has been showing up on multiple blogs and it IS Friday. Therefore, Sometimes, Always, Never returns.

My friend Sierra posted about this.

Life of Bon posted about this. 

Even a dance/fitness tumblr I follow posted about shutting down her ask box because everything she was getting was rude or stupid, even though she makes workouts and inspirational posts FOR FREE.

I am lucky to never have had an issue with rude/stupid/retarded comments on my blog, and wouldn't mind if I did. A girl once complained about a post we wrote on BYU Style back in the day when Katie and I were writing for it, and we just LOLed and LOLed over it. No harm done.

Despite all logic and humanity, blogging has somehow become a controversial issue. Blows. My. Mind.

To me, blogging is such a small, insignificant part of my life. I really like to write and I love reading blogs, but if my blog went away (Natural Disaster, Apocalypse, Electronic/Internet failure) would my world end? NO. It's just a fun thing to add to my life.

Logic would conclude that Blogging is this:

1. Someone has a site where they post their thoughts, ideas, outfits, recipes, opinions, intelligence and stupidity.
2. You DO NOT have to read it, they owe NOTHING to you, and it's not real life anyways. 
3. Reason would dictate that there is no possible reason to leave nasty comments, belittle others, complain about a blog or  even read it in the first place. Yet here we are. 

Without further ado.... How to Not be an Idiot in the Blogosphere.

SOMETIMES

Blog. Yes, you read that right. I firmly believe you should only blog SOMETIMES. Do not blog every day unless you are being paid to, or unless you want to lose touch with reality. Seriously. No one has a life so interesting that it requires everyday documentation.

Comment on blogs. If I tried to comment on every blog I read, even just once a week, it would be a colossal waste of my time. I only comment on posts that really touch me or relate to me. Just like you wouldn't try to talk to every single person at a big party, you shouldn't try to be part of every single blog on the interwebs. Come on.

ALWAYS

Follow what you love and unfollow what you don't. Don't be afraid to unfollow a blog or delete a subscription. Don't feel bad. This is your life. Don't waste it reading things that make you mad or sad or don't really contribute to your life.

Contribute positively. We all love a good b**** fit post. But the majority of your internet contribution should be positive, that includes comments and content you follow.  

NEVER

"I'm such a bad blogger!" Is blogging a sport? Is blogging a competition? No. Blog when and how and what you want to. If you're doing what you love you are a "good" blogger.

I take it back. If you don't know how to use the English language appropriately you are a "bad" blogger.

For the love of everything internet, do NOT make your blog your personal journal. No one cares. Sorry. But we don't want to know how many times you had to change your little one today or how you slept last night.

General Authorities have commanded us to keep journals. I get that. But if your journal is your blog you are missing the entire point - keeping things sacred.

***If you are leaving a mean comment, complaining about a blog, or getting angry about a post:***

You are the idiot we are referring to.

You do realize that it is THEIR blog, correct? And they they write it for THEM? Not you and your selfish little life.

So stop typing. Close that comment thread. Unfollow that blog. Log off your computer. 

No one will miss you. Trust me. 

If this is offensive, feel free to unfollow me. I recognize this was a mean ranting post. You have every right to choose what to follow and I have every right to write anything I choose. I'll take my own advice and get over it. Promise.

Because my value and self-worth are not determined by your comments or the number of followers in my right sidebar.