Weekend Warrior

I am a planner. I'm a countdown-er. I'm a list completer. I'm a get-excited-about-everything-er.

So I've spent a couple weeks now gearing up and getting stoked for one of my two favorite weekends of the year - General Conference!!

Even with all my high expectations this weekend did not disappoint.

Friday (my day off for student led conferences) included sleeping until 10, hitting the gym and meeting The Beard for some Chipotle for lunch, then a long Target shopping trip. I bought this leather jacket and I pretty much want to sleep in it. Also some Essie "Sole Mate" burgundy polish that makes me feel like a chic vampire.

We went to a classy reception and then met the Holdaway clan for some Hibachi House - our favorite Asian joint in Lehi.

Saturday I made chili and scones, watched 4 hours of amazing conference, and then went shopping with my girls. This is one of my favorite parts of the weekend - dinner, treats, shopping, JT singalongs and girl talk while our guys are at Priesthood.

We slept over at my in-laws and woke up to Chad Holdaway's famous Eggs Benedict and enjoyed the first session of conference with Glen Coco and Lillie Bug (my niece) running laps around the living room. I stocked up on Diet Coke the night before since my in-laws are all healthy and junk.

We ended the afternoon session back at our apartment with a giant bowl of popcorn and lots of blankets.

So grateful for these weekends that breathe life back into me and renew my desire to be a better person. Can't wait to study President Uchtdorf, Elder Bednar and Elder Hollands talks in detail as soon as they are out.

To Look Forward To Next:

• Fall Break Next Weeek
• My Birthday Week after Next
• Halloween Week after That!

October, I'm in love with you!

September Bucket List

Hello Pals! Today I am enjoying a much needed day off - the first week of school really kills ya. Good news: the numbness in my toes is almost gone and my voice is back to full volume. Friday we hung with friends at a reception and got delicious tacos at Street 180 in Provo (go!!!), I spent Saturday up at Swiss Days with my sisters and MIL, Sunday at Church and lounging on the couch and today I'll be hiking with friends and family, getting caught up on laundry and cleaning, and working on my newly enrolled Masters program classes. I need to rest up, prep and recharge for a full and crazy month ahead!

September means the last few days of heat, school getting more regular and busy, The Beard starting his very intense program, his birthday and both of us speaking in church. Yikes and yay! My cute friend Aubry does her monthly to-do lists on her blog and I just love them. Not only am I a crazy list-maker, but I also want to make the most of my fall. Life is just better when we're making goals and seeing them through, rather than just chillin on the couch 7 nights a week.

So here it is. My September To-Dos.

• Go on a hike (checking this one off today! Bridal Veil Falls with my Holdaway girls!)
• Make homemade cinnamon rolls on a Saturday morning
• YogaYogaYoga - gonna try these at home and attend a few classes at Gold's
• Go to a football game
• Watch John Adams on HBO GO
• Finally use those rackets the Beard got me for our anniversary
• Finish 1 of my courses for my Masters program
• Wear my summer/warm weather clothes 1 last time before packing up
• Try a rich fall lip color
• Drink more water, less Diet Coke. 
• Soak up the remaining warm afternoons at the pool and in the park with Glen
• Wear a monochromatic look
• Throw a fun baseball-themed bachelorette party for my girl Kayla

A Bridal Shower & Honey Lemon Designs

Last week I had the opportunity to throw a bridal shower for my cute SIL Haley! She's getting married August 9th and I'm so excited! I love weddings.

Pinterest pretty much planned this one for me - Tiffany Blue Lemonade (Blue Raspberry Kool-Aid, Pina-Colada mix and Country Time lemonade), Cake Pops, He Said/She Said and spa-related favors.

 Even a makeshift photobooth!

Fun Anecdote: I was getting a ton of party stuff at the dollar store and the checkout girl is like

"Oh are you having a party?"

"Bridal Shower, yeah."

*She keeps checking me out, I'm just chillin*

"Ummm....?" She holds up the plastic ninja sword I got for the photobooth. "Bridal Shower?"

"Ohhhh. Haha yeah... It's a photobooth prop...."

*scrunches her brow and nods skeptically*


My cute friend Lisa over at Honey Lemon Designs made this adorable print for me to display at the shower and give to Haley for a decoration!

She was great to work with and went through 3-4 drafts to allow me the customization I wanted. She had it completed and shipped to me lightning fast so I had it for the shower on Thursday. I'm planning a giveaway with her for my birthday in October - so get excited for that!

Check out her etsy store for tons of cute prints (it will take you 2 seconds to see all the Star Wars prints and realize why I love this girl).

My Happiness Project: Week Two

This week started off a little slow. Netflix was set up, all the life necessities were unpacked, The Beard was at work all day and Glen Coco was being EXTRA cuddly (he's still a little unsure about living in a new unfamiliar place). Therefore we spent quite a bit of time on the couch and at the pool. Still, I managed to work on my two goals for this week - Mindfulness and FUN.

Fun

- Go outside EVERY DAY. This sounds so pathetic, but there really are days when I don't go outside. It happened a lot last summer. Life is just better when you spend some time outside. (I refuse to say NATURE because then that means my concrete walk to the pool doesn't count.)
-- I did it! I walked Glen, went to the pool, read outside and I went to Bear Lake and spent TONS of time outside. You just feel good. You feel like you did something, even if it was a 2 minute walk. If you do one thing, do this, you guys.

- Choose to DO over NOT DO. On both Tuesday and Wednesday we had plans to hunker down and work on some research stuff at home. Both afternoons we got invited to do things - Tuesday we went to the Owlz game and to Buffalo Wild Wings with Chris & Haley, Wednesday we saw Despicable Me 2 and went to Iggy's with the Holdaways.
-- We DID! Both were late nights where we didn't accomplish what we'd planned for that night. Did we regret it? Absolutely not. It was replenishing and FUN.

-Do new things. Break out. I love sitting on the couch and watching The Office for 6 hours, but am I learning anything new or having FUN? No.
-- This meant going to the family reunion with my parents even though The Beard had to work, I hate camping, I'm not a lake person, and I'm not super tight with my dad's side of the family. But you know what? I had an amazing time! I learned to ride a jet ski with my 70+ year old grandma! I played with the cute babies and told ghost stories with the young girls. I came home exhausted and smelling of smoke but so refreshed and energized. I've got a pretty awesome family.

Mindfulness

- I read The Miracle of Mindfulness by Thich Nhat Hanh. He's a Buddhist monk and he stresses the idea of mindfulness, or being mentally present. Basically, he says you shouldn't wash the dishes just to get the dishes clean and move on with your life. You should wash the dishes to WASH THE DISHES. Whatever you are doing at any given moment should be the most important thing in your life. Otherwise, if you're always thinking about what you SHOULD or RATHER be doing, you will never have real happiness from life and you'll always feel like you don't have time.
-- Again, my multi-task-y-ness is a problem here. It's about being mentally quieter. I tried to think about things as I was doing them - applying mascara, playing with Glen, walking to and from the pool, driving to Bear Lake with my parents and just t
alking with them instead of trying to read, listen to music, nap or make to-do lists. I found much more pleasure in those things and, as they always say, I think I did them BETTER than if I'd multitasked.

- Journaling. Latter-day Saints are all about journaling, but I've never been that consistent with it. And when I do, I only write positive things or notes from scripture study. But being mindful means thinking about your day, good and bad, and remembering it.
-- I'm sucking. I wrote like once this week. But I have motivated myself by keeping my journal on the coffee table so I remember to write while I'm watching my bedtime 6 Office episodes. I also promised myself that as soon as I finish this almost-full moleskin journal I can go get a really pretty new fancy journal. The kind with the fuzzy cover and a tiny lock and key. (jk... kind of)

- Meditation. I've only ever done this in yoga, and even then not specifically. The goal is to achieve real mental "rest" by accepting all thoughts and feelings and quieting the mind in peace.
-- I have yet to exercise the patience to do it for the recommended one hour a day. But I am trying to do it for at least 15 minutes each day. A couple mornings I did it when I woke up - I shook my muscles out, tied my hair up and propped myself in the lotus position while acknowledging each thought, feeling, idea and then releasing it. I was amazed to find how much PEACE I felt. Even if I had to go clean up all the fuzz Glen ripped out of his hedgehog toy while I was all zen.

 

Look at this guy. I'm in love with him. 

 

It's going pretty good, guys! I really feel happier and like I'm doing more with my life. The mindfulness stuff is kind of weird, but the fun part has been... well, fun. :) Tune in next week to hear how I do with my physical and learning goals this week! Wish me luck!

My Happiness Project: Overview
My Happiness Project: Week One

How to Dress to Avoid a Nursery Calling and Q&A

It was our first Sunday in our new ward - or so we thought. I was excited. I got all dressed up - my game plan being that they would think (accurately) that I was vain and pretentious and a terrible choice for Nursery. Yet, the second we sat down, a member of the bishopric beelines over to us and after hearing where we live says abruptly "Oh this is the wrong ward." Okkkkkkkk. Well I successfully dodged nursery for at least one week, right?

So enough about avoiding divinely inspired callings. My cute friend Dany tagged me in a Q&A, which I always love. I can blog without having to think too hard about it. Check out her blog for cute stories and great beauty posts.

/favorite song off the top of your head, and provide a link if you can!

Right now... probably Second Chance by Peter Bjorn and John. It was a great packing/moving/driving song and I've listened to it probably 1000x in the last 2 weeks. Don't let the weirdo music video turn you off. Close your eyes if you have to.

. 

/who do you look up to most, and why?

I actually look DOWN to this person, in more ways than one. She is younger and shorter than me, but my sister-in-law Haley is already as good a person as I can hope to become. She's so warm and kind - people just love her. She's is such a good person and her testimony is so visible in the way she lives her life. She's responsible and mature, way better with kids and old people than I am. She is so beautiful and fun, which is why everyone, girls and boys alike just want to be around her. I want to copy her optimism, charity and general attitude. Lucky for us, she's engaged to a guy we love and we get to double with them weekly now. :)

//if you could change one thing that has happened to you, what would it be & why?

Happened to me - meaning I had no control? Most of what I regret is stupid decisions I've made, but I'd say probably getting the job in Mapleton. They gave the job to the intern who had taught that grade level all year - which makes sense. I just think sometimes about if I'd been given that job and we'd had another year in Mapleton to take it easy, have easy jobs, save money and figure life out. 

//what is your favorite memory?

This doesn't sound all that special, but I love it because it's when we both kind of started to realize we loved each other. A few weeks after The Beard and I started "officially" dating (but really we were still just hanging out), he turned to me one night when we were hanging on the couch watching The Office no doubt, and said "Ok. I'm taking you on a real date Friday night. Wear something nice." I think I smiled every second until he came to pick me up that Friday night. He's put on a nice shirt and his "fancy" jeans and HE HAD EVEN SHAVED HIS SCRUFF (this is pre-full-always-beard days) OMG. He took me to our favorite little Italian place - La Dolce Vita in Provo, then to see Easy A. We ended the night just laughing and talking until way past Honor Code hours. I'm pretty sure I smiled for about a week afterwards.

//spillllll - what's your guilty pleasure?

Crunching Wint-O-Green Mints. Again, Dany knows about this one. I used to go through literally a hundred a day. I'm falling back into it again lately. I smell minty and delicious all the time, but my jaw is aching. 

//any beauty secrets that you're currently loving?

It's way too hot to wear melty, thick makeup, so my thing lately has been a super light layer of moisturizer and a very light dusting of loose powder foundation. Streak free, Holmes!!!

//most embarrassing moment

Oh easy. Dany was even there for this one. The National Anthem Incident of 2008. The girl who was supposed to sing it didn't show up, so my coach asked me to sing it. Don't know why. I said, "Sure, why not?!!" because I was the team clown/goofy/attention hungry probably. I forgot the words approximately 2 seconds in, due to the pterodactyls in my stomach. So I did what any rational, self-possessed teenager would do - lower your volume and mumble until you remember it. Classic way to honor our Beautiful America. I'm sorry Uncle Sam. 

//favorite thing about YOURself - gloat as you may, we love you no matter what!

I hope I have a good sense of humor and a quick wit. I really like being funny. That means more to me than anything else. That's what I really want to be described as when people say "What's Danica like?" "Funny." But not "Funny LOOKING." Gotcha Dad. We all know you were thinking it. 

 

My Happiness Project: Week One

For the first week of my project (last week, July 1-7), I picked two things I wanted to create good habits with, then to continue them throughout the rest of my weeks. And forever, obviously.

I felt I kind of HAD to pick "Home," since I'd be moving, unpacking and settling into a new home. 

Naturally, I picked "Marriage" as my second area, because my marriage is my most valued possession. It's so easy to take it for granted, but I don't want to.

So here was my game plan/results:

Home

- Get COMPLETELY unpacked and settled (last time we moved I was still waiting to hang stuff and unpack some things when we moved out. Yikes.)
----> I don't have everything hung, and I'm still moving things around in my pantry and from cabinet to cabinet based on my mood, but I did pretty good!

- It's the little things: close cabinets & drawers, keep closet & pantry doors shut, keep clutter off the coffee table
----> Still working on this through the clutter, but I'm making a conscious effort to scan a room when I leave it and just tidy up a tiny bit - close the doors, turn off the lights, put things back. It makes a difference.

- Don't put anything off that takes less than a minute to do. I unabashedly stole this one from The Happiness Project because it just stuck with me so easily. It just makes sense and it's simple.
----> I actually wrapped up and put my curling iron away you guys. I'm serious.

Marriage

- Pray together before bed. I know. Pathetic that we didn't already do this. We had such different schedules for most of our marriage so far, that we didn't always go to bed at the same time. Now we do, and I wanted to make this a habit.
----> This has made the single biggest difference of anything I've ever tried to do to improve my marriage. Wow. We take turns praying aloud each night and it really is amazing. It means I'm not making to-do lists in my head mid-silent prayer, not falling asleep, not forgetting things I wanted to pray for/about. And it's really made me feel like we're on the same team after a crazy freaking 2 months of chaos.

- Stop criticizing. I'm the worst. Even just little things like "You never take out the trash" said in passing. Where is that getting either of us? No where. So why do I do it? Because I'm the worst. If it helps, I'm also super mean-critical of myself pretty much every second of the day. Doesn't help? Ok.
----> I'm working on making requests, not criticisms or demands. Like "Hey could you please take the trash out after this inning? You are my favorite. Thank you."

- Learn our Love Languages. I'm a big believer in love languages, so I re-read the book this week. It was really interesting to see how different it was from when I read it 2 years ago when we were newly engaged.
----> The Beard is a big quality time language guy. He loves it when I make time to just watch a baseball game or a movie with him, no Pinterest, no books, just cuddles. As a chronic multi-tasker, it doesn't always come naturally. But I'm working on it!
----> I'm an Acts of Service girl. It really means the most to me when he does things that I know he doesn't want to do. He thinks this means what I really love is torturing him. So we're working on that. (GOING TO MOVIES ISN'T TORTURE, RYAN)

- Family Counsel. We sit down, talk about where we're at, how we're doing, what we're worried about, what we need to work on and make a plan. We used to do it a lot when we were first married, and it kind of trickled off, I guess. Welcome back, marriage DTR!!!!
----> We did it! We even took notes and made lists and goals with due dates! We also decided on a family motto - "Do More." Good, right?! We recognized that laziness is so tempting to us, we need to fight it actively.

Overall, I'm pretty pumped after week one. It was a good, doable week and I feel refreshed and happy. The tough part will be continuing with these resolutions as I add new ones each week.

This Weekend

This Weekend I...

- Packed up approximately 1/3 of my house 

- Saw World War Z (AWESOME)

- Successfully completed the Zombie Chase 5K at 11 pm under the full moon and then

- Had a midnight IHOP date with our favorite double couple, Haley & Chris

- Slept 3 Hours

- Head down to Mapleton for Mitch's 9 am farewell

- Say goodbye to my baby brother for two years (Fukuoka, Japan)

- Come home to pack another third of my house

- Fly to Boston! Leaving the Beard to pack up the remaining third of our house (I get home late Sunday and we move Monday)

Yahtzee. 

Our Fake Baby, Apollo

Yesterday, I listed "Apollo" as one of the "odd things" in my house and promised an explanation - here goes.

When Ryan & I were engaged, so were our besties, Brad & Eliesa. My other bestie, Katie, was pregnant with her little sweetheart Diva Eva. And the three of us - Katie, Eliesa & I, worked at the LAO.

During the summer months it got really boring, especially in the afternoons. We'd find things to keep us entertained when everyone was gone.

• Online Typing Tests
• Tomhaverfoods.com
• Stalking singles ward members
• Creating/posting for BYUStyle
• Running to the South End Market, AKA "South of the Border" for Diet Coke

But the weirdest turn those afternoons ever took was the day we created Apollo.

Katie was pregnant and we were talking about ugly babies. Because there are ugly babies. You know there are. We all like to pretend like babies are all perfect and beautiful, but the fact is that some babies are just scary and, as my dad would say "Give that monkey a banana."

To be sure that her baby wouldn't be ugly, she found a free site that takes photos of two interested parties and shows what their theoretical child would look like. If I'm remembering correctly, the first few came out looking troll-like, even though Katie and TJ are goodlooking people. Eliesa joined in with pictures of her and Brad, similar results. I'm serious. Go look at the babies on the front page of the website and you'll see what I mean.

They asked me several times to join in, but I wasn't having it. I was (and still slightly am) terrified of babies and being a mother. I didn't like to think about it. On top of that, my mother-in-law was (and still completely is) all about being a grandma.

Eventually, they pulled pictures of Ryan and me from Facebook and just did it for us. I was pretty scared actually, after seeing so many weird combinations from my friends, all of whom I thought were above average looking people.

But then, they showed me this. And I got over my baby fear. For about 15 seconds. I mean. Look at those curls and that devious little smile?

I emailed it to Ryan, who promptly named him Apollo and forwarded him to my mother-in-law, who promptly printed him out and taped him to her computer. She still affectionately refers to him as her "Little Grandbaby Apollo, who like Mac n Cheese and brings sticks in the house."

He now hangs on our fridge - each day making me slightly less scared for becoming parents.

Until I see a kid screaming uncontrollably at Walmart and then puke all down his front.

Reset button.

It's a Booze Cruise!!

On Tuesday We took a little cruise around the Na'Pali Coast and it was pretty awesome. We did it to celebrate Brookie's 21st birthday!!

The coast has small stretches of pristine beaches and miles of steep black cliffs with spikey spears known has Hawaiian Cathedrals. The volcanic rock makes for some cool snorkeling too. You guys... I was even brave enough to snorkel for like 15 mins!!! There were fish swimming all around me and I kept visualizing phantom sharks in the distance but I survived. 

The really cool part of the cruise was after dinner when everyone was enjoying Mai Tais and beer. Well, everyone except for us obviously. One of the crew came to ask us if we wanted a round. When we said no thanks, she looked around at us. 

"Are you guys all together?" I could see her trying to piece together our group, so I quickly explained and pointed. Mom, Dad, siblings, son-in-law. 

"So you're the mom? All 3 of these kids are yours?" She asked my mom, almost in wonder. 

"Damnnnnnn."

We all laughed and she just shook her head. "No offense! That's hard!"

"It's worth it!" My mom smiled. 

"I'm just impressed," the lady said. "Keeping a family together is hard." 

And I just thought.... No. It really isn't. When you know, as we do, that family is the #1 priority, and ACT LIKE IT, it isn't hard. It's a natural consequence. We've taken precautions and extra time to make sure our family was tight, and though we're far from perfect, we have achieved that goal. 

The conversation turned to where we were from, which turns to how we're Mormon. We were only briefly able to talk with her, but I really hope we left the impression on her of a happy family that has stuck together. 

I really hope she wants that, it resonates with her, and one day those missionaries will knock on her door and she'll get that eternal family and all the blessings that come with it. 

This gospel is pretty awesome and I hey to be with these weirdos forever. 

Don't Be a Bad Sport, Old Sport.

Who ISN'T talking about Gatsby?

I forced The Beard by pain of death to go to Gatsby this weekend on a double with Haley and her fiance Chris. He was less than thrilled. Who doesn't want to go to stuff they hate with someone who geeks out and dresses up for every occasion? Sounds pretty fun to me.

The Beard is a BIT of a contrarian. It's more extreme individualism. He's no robot. I am grateful for that. You like something? He hates it. If something is popular, it has to be garbage. It's not necessarily being a hipster. It's more that he just refuses to like/do/be things just because its expected.

He hates President Lincoln. If that tells you anything. Which it should.

He hated the book. "It's not a story! It's all this backstory and undeveloped characters and just because Fitzgerald writes amazing prose it's become this brainless classic!"

Therefore I guess he gets bonus points for sucking it up and going with me. I owe him like 100 hours of Red Sox baseball now. 

I disagree with him, however. Even though I also dislike the story, for the most part. Terrible people doing terrible things. The only real moral of the story is that you will lose things if you live carelessly. But I still liked the book because of it's few redeeming qualities, listed hereafter. The story sticks with you. I'm still thinking about it, days after seeing the movie.

I liked the movie more than the book and here's why - the parts of the book I liked the best were better represented in the movie than in my head.

The parties. Doesn't this just make you want to wear something sparkly and dance? I couldn't have pictured this in my head. The movie did a great job.

Gatsby's plan and backstory. I love that they took the time to explain and show where he'd been.

The infatuation, however selfish and unrealistic, between Gatsby and Daisy. I literally trembled (hate that I just used that word) at one of the romantic parts. Embarrassing, right?

And of course, the fashion. Goes without saying.

How can you not love it? The soundtrack has been on repeat since Saturday. I highly recommend it.

The Beard did say one thing that is 100% true.

"If at any point, ANY of the characters make the right decision, the book would have been over."

Gatsby is honest with Daisy about his upbringing/lack of wealth --> She either still loves him and commits or he realizes she's shallow and moves on. No book.

Gatsby is a hardworking, honest businessman --> He makes half as much money, accept reality, settles down with a nice women worth 20 Daisies. No book. 

Tom is a good husband to Daisy --> She loves him, doesn't wonder about Gatsby, no one gets their nose broken, no one gets hit by a car. No book.

Wilson is a good husband to Myrtle --> She loves him, doesn't cheat, no one gets their nose broken, no one gets hit by a car, Wilson doesn't shoot Gatsby. No book.

Myrtle doesn't step out on Wilson --> No one gets their nose broken, no one gets hit by a car, no one gets shot dead out of miscommunication. No book.

Nick doesn't facilitate the rendezvous between Daisy and Gatsby --> They don't have a torrid secret affair spanning East and West Egg. No book.

Daisy stops the car, takes responsibility for the accident --> No one gets murdered. We all learn about consequences. No book.

Because that IS the book - every character making every wrong decision and getting few, if any, consequences for it. In the end it's an allegory, though. Gatsby dies symbolically - they'll all meet their due eventually with the Great Depression quick on their heels. Excess breeds a fall from grace. Carelessness breeds despair. 

.... wickedness... never was.... happiness. Omg see what I did there?

And if they'd just joined the Church, just think how much happier their lives would be???

Her Hair is Full of Secrets

My mom is pretty cool. My friends have always been jealous of how cool of a mom I have.

A. My mom has always had great style and ALWAYS looks put together. Have you met my mom? Ever seen her with a greasy pony tail? Nope. Neither have I in 23 years. Those people exist in the universe. And Patti J is one of them.

B. A salon in my house stocked with every hair tool, product and makeup item the heart could desire - yeah, it's been pretty rad.

C. She's always super nice to everyone, all the time. She's a great listener (I think you probably have to be, to be a hairdresser) and everyone likes and trusts her. For this reason people tell her everything. She's the hub of all info and gossip you could ever hope to know.

Yesterday we went to the Draper temple - where I went through for the first time before we got married. I had Mother's Day on the mind and kept thinking of some of the greatest things about Patti B.

First, I obviously thought of when I went through the temple, since, you know, we were there. I remember every time I got nervous or confused, I just looked over at my mom next to me and she was just smiling and comfortable. I've watched my parents go to the temple every few Tuesdays pretty much my entire life. I remember thinking "If my mom does this and is happy and comfortable here so regularly, I can be too and that's what I want."

Then I thought about the first time I was really grateful for my mom and knew she loved me. I got my wisdom teeth out when I was 12 and I had to go to an oral surgeon because I had a random phantom extra tooth to be removed from my sinus cavity as well. It was pretty rough. I had to take a bunch of pain/antibiotic/puke my guts out pills every few hours, including during the night. I've always been really independent and could have easily set my own alarms and woken up to take my own pills responsibly. And I think my mom knew that. But she woke up every few hours during the night, even though she had to work, to make sure I took the pills and was feeling ok. I remember thinking "She doesn't have to do this. It must be a pain to wake up every few hours knowing she doesn't have to do this. But she's doing it, and its very reassuring to me."

She never missed a game!

Then I thought about the first time my mom made my jaw drop. We were at Seven Peaks and I was probably 10 or 12. She came to do the rope swing with us because Mitch was so little. She got in line. Ok Patti B. You're gonna rope swing? Wow. Alright.

She grabs the rope and takes a pretty aggressive jump. That's weird. She's planting her feet on the bottom knot. Ok that's a really high arc... what is sh---

SHE JUST DID A FREAKING BACKDIVE OFF THE ROPE SWING THAT'S MY MOM OMG OMG IS THAT MY MOM THAT CAN'T BE MY MOM OMG PEOPLE ARE CHEERING OMG THAT WAS UNREAL

My mom has literally never embarrassed me in my life. How many people can say that? Probably none. Sorry everyone.

I also acquired most of my fiesty-ness from my mom. She once called a lady in our ward and gave her the scariest talking to I've ever heard because she was rude to me after my 5th grade graduation and made me cry. It was awesome.

The thing I've grown to appreciate most about my mom as I've gotten older is that she takes care of herself and retained her own person. She runs every day. She even does Insanity now! As mentioned above, she always looks flawless, never sloppy. No one has ever or will ever accuse her of "letting herself go." She always made it a priority to go on dates with my dad alone every week - a tradition I want to adopt in my marriage when we have kids. She is always making friends and takes time to maintain her friendships. She loves to do hair, so she found a way to do it and still be a "stay at home mom." She reads often, keeps our house immaculate and makes the best bread you will ever eat. You'll never catch her sleeping past 10 on a weekend - because she has too much to do to make her life sparkle.

Your life sparkles just by touching hers. 

And it wouldn't be Mother's Day without mentioning my awesome Mother-in-Law. How I got so lucky to land a MIL that is so kind and welcoming, as well as just so COOL, I'll never know. Kitty made it a point to make me feel welcome in the family from the first moment I met her and I'll never forget that. She texts me about The Office, makes me my favorite delicious cupcakes and nurtures me like I'm one of her own. With so many of my friends around me stressing and complaining about crazy MILs, I have to quietly smile to myself. I don't want to rub it in their faces that not only is my MIL normal, but she's someone I WANT to spend time with whenever I can.

Love you Moms!

Day to Night

Yesterday I wore one of my new high-low dresses to school (my latest obsession. Bought 2 on my last shopping trip. Yikes.), and we had dinner with the Holdaways planned for that evening. I thought all day about my outfit change for dinner so I figured - Hey. Why not make this an outfit blog post? Voila. Here goes.

I'm 100% for changing your outfit multiple times a day. But ain't nobody got time for that. Usually when I do, it's around a staple piece - a pair of jeans, a shirt or in this case - a dress. It took me less than 15 minutes to completely change my look for a little family dinner date. 

For school I paired this coral-y high low dress with a navy blazer and navy flats to ground it a little (this dress can easily scream "Long Hair Don't Care Also I'm Obsessed With Mermaids") and to look professional. Normally heels would be a good option, but it was a project day where I was running around and Thursdays are always my toughest schedule days - therefore, comfy flats.

You ALWAYS need a belt with a plain column (uncinched/ungathered/otherwise plain-fronted) dress. So I added a thin gold one to complement the warm coral undertones. Throw on a blue necklace and throw a quick bend in my ends and that's a pretty standard school outfit for me.

 

Dress: F21, Flats: Famous Footwear, Blazer: Cotton On, Belt: Gap, Necklace: F21

For dinner (or any other evening activity) you want to have a little more fun with it. I swapped the blue blazer for a cheetah cropped cardigan. I swapped the flats for a dark heeled bootie. And obviously I swapped the gold belt for a black one.



















I touched up my makeup with a bit more powder, undereye concealer (thank you blue circles under my eyes for making me look like I work harder than I do), hot pink creme blush and a swipe of mascara. A blast of dry shampoo, a few turns of the curling iron and Danica went from a classic but boring school day look to fun night out look.

Dress: F21, Boots: Famous Footwear, Sweater: H&M, Belt: Gap

I like the flats look better. It wasn't until I looked at these pictures today that I realized how short the boots and sweater make me look by hitting at unflattering points. Curse you, curves. Just kidding. Love you lots.

I don't take it back. It was a fun outfit to wear anyway. 

YOLO.

I Put the "Dance" in Abundance Mentality

Over the last week, I got kind of nervous because we had all of a sudden booked  our week like we were single again - friends, family, appointments and funtivities every night. For some reason I've started this trend where I plan a couple of activities a week and try to leave other nights wide open - then I end up canceling my activities anyway out of... what? Laziness mostly. Fatigue. Fear that I won't be cool or have fun. Selfishness.

Instead, I accepted all of these funtivities and plans because I've been in excellent spirits (due to this fantastic weather, fun developments at school and the planning of a Vegas spring break trip next week - woot!) and I decided I should try to have the "abundance mentality" I liked so much in 7 Habits by Steven Covey.

The Abundance Mentality says that you shouldn't live like you have limited resources, a finite amount of energy or only a few spots in our heart for love and close friends. You should live like you have plenty of love, energy and time - especially for others. You find as you love more and more, you end up with more love to give and receive. You end up with more energy and more friends. More LIFE.

So when the Holdaway's called us to meet them at Culvers in AF for dinner when I'd just returned home sweaty and exhausted from a particularly awesome workout (post coming later this week) I was tempted to pass - but we went and it was awesome. I even came home with a new JCrew pencil skirt and striped sweater for $45. Yahtzee.

Also - Can we talk about how awesome the Traverse Mountain Outlets are? These are the bathrooms. They are nicer than my entire house - and bigger. And I secretly want a big floppy hat so I can pretend to be a celebrity at the pool this summer. Does anyone have one of these? Worth it?

Post-workout shopping - A Millenium Falcon t-shirt - Target, hoodie - Pac Sun, jeans - F21, high top sneakers - Forever Young shoes, hat - JCrew

When I was sore and tired from getting home late, knowing that our team was going to forfeit either way, I wanted to ditch my regional tournament bball game. The whole season our ward barely scraped 5 people together to play - but we made it to the regional tournament after sweeping the stake. Two of our women got hurt playing and we forfeited our first tournament game. But I showed up anyway. It was just me and my baller friend Brei - so we forfeited as predicted. But the other team had 8 girls and wanted to scrimmage so we got to play anyway! And we had an awesome time - and an awesome workout. Rewarded.

Wednesday we had a CDP with the Ashby's and made some of the most delicious tacos and guacamole and berry cobbler this state has ever seen. After stuffiing ourselves, Katie and I planned.... wait for it...... A giveaway! Check out my post tomorrow morning to enter!

Thursday was our one night to hunker down and relax. Which means popcorn, cuddling with Glen Coco and NBC shows. Are you serious Ann Perkins? Who is your hairstylist? And is anyone else insanely weirded out by the sperm donor situation?

These two

Friday was one of our beloved date nights with our besties the Findeis'. We met for dinner at our favorite Italian joint in Salt Lake - Tucci's. Wow. We ended up talking so long we missed our planned movie - Don't Stop Believing - that documentary about the Fillipino guy who joins Journey. Instead we went shopping at City Creek (a new Boston hat for Ryan, tons of spring essentials for me) and watched "Thank You For Smoking" back at our place. Man we love them.

Saturday morning I was tempted to lay in bed and just read all morning/day/evening always. But I didn't! I pushed myself to make use of my time. I slept in, mind you. But I got up, hit the gym, library and Sonic - of course. I had my protein shake and then we cleaned up our house! Chores! Can you believe it!

 Breakfast of Champions: Vanilla-Honey Greek yogurt with honey flax granola and blueberries, a protein shake and a 44 oz. Diet Dr. Pepper. 

 The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell and 1776 by David MuCullough

Saturday night we had another CDP with Caroline (newly returned from INDIA yikes) and her boyfriend Martin, with a guest appearance from our other high school BFF - Mckensie. Plenty of glory days-ing, gossiping and catching up.

What an awesome week. Am I tired? A little. But this abundance mentality thing is pretty freaking awesome. Give it a try. It definitely paid off for me. Get your hands on "Seven Habits for Highly Effective People" and your world will change.

Stay tuned this week for a giveaway, Workout Wednesday, the creepiest thing about me and more #JuniorHighProbs.

Thanks for reading! Love you all.

Smells Like Teen Spirit... Ew.

On Wednesday night my little (tall) brother competed in the Mr. Maple Mountain pageant. He was hilarious.

His catchphrase is "AMERICA!" He just shouts/whimpers/whines it all the time and it's kind of become his thing. He rented a Captain America suit from Taylormade, my adorable sister in law Haley helped him make a Captain America shield cake.

He wore the most disgusting and awesome silk Savers jacket, covered in American Flags, open and flowing for his 80's number of "Total Eclipse of the Heart" for the talent portion. Hilarious. Inspired by this:


He won the "Best Dancer" award for his enthusiastic moves during the opening dance. Super proud of that. He's so much fun and he did a great job using his humor to drive the whole competition. What a kid.

That kid is also checking off his mission interview with the bishop this week, with the Stake President interview close to follow. Yikes. Let's not talk about it anymore. Instead here's what I wore. (Anybody wanna peanut? Get it?)

I went with high waist trouser jeans which I am currently addicted to, forest green peplum, and purple heels for the jewel tone vibe. I guess. Trying to listen to some reader's feedback and post more outfit photos even though we are photography n00bs.

 We had a great time supporting Mitch and running into my students from last year, ending the night with the worst service of all time at IHOP. Literal quote:

"Ok, I think I still have some toast coming?" - my mom after waiting 40+ minutes for an omelette

"Oh yeah it's coming. The cook is new." - waiter that sucked/tried to impress us by mentioning he does Crossfit.

"What? So new he can't even make TOAST?!" - me, not waiting long enough for the waiter to walk away.

My bad.

6 Months for you, Glen Coco! You Go Glen Coco!

Sunday was Glen Coco's 6 month birthday!!!! Yeah. I'm one of those people. But, no, I didn't make him a pup-cake. It's real.

**To read our post when we first got Glen check here**

I can't believe he used to look like this.

But now he looks like this! (Notice the sock he's {unsuccessfully} trying to bury)

Man we love this little guy. Our little family just revolves around him. He's getting all puppy pad trained, not biting and slowly cutting down on the crazy barking. He's extra cuddly and he's learning tricks!

He even made it onto Dogshaming in his first 6 months. Pretty accomplished. Even if it was post-scary-haircut.

Not to mention I love that the Beard loves him. We got him knowing he'd be for me, and the Beard was reluctant to even have one. But fellow Beards bonded and now they are fast friends. :)

 

Two bearded goofballs in a pod. 

Try to tell me this isn't the best picture you've ever seen. 

Likes

• Stealing & hiding socks (see above)
• Sticking his butt in your face
• Eating leaves, paper, anything
• Playing fetch
• Our big blue blanket aka Glen's nap spot
• Humping his panda pillow pet (sorry?)

Dislikes

• Cold snow on his sensitive little paws
• His Darth Vader Halloween costume. It was a little too big and scared him so bad. So it'll have to wait until next year. :(
• Baths
• Waking up
• Lettuce
• Milo (the upstairs neighbor's Bernese Mountain dog. Same age as Glen, 50x the size and very VERY friendly)
• Vacuums & Washing Machines

Hilarious things he does:

When I'm asleep or reading or otherwise occupied, he gets his toy and drops it right on my face.

 Wake up Mom!

When I do yoga he attacks my ponytail and jumps on my back. Challenge Level: 10. I'm going to try to get some video because it's comedic slapstick gold.

When I'm asleep he sleeps above/against the top of my head on my pillow, and gets pissed if I have to change position.

When he knows he's in trouble he looks up at us with sad eyes and tries to nuzzle. It works.

When he jumps off the couch he leaps like he's trying to fly.

When I hide under a blanket and "cry" for him he wails and whines until he can find a way under the blanket. 

When we are eating he tries to catch the food between our plates and our mouths.

Boy, is he perfect.