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!

Yet Another Baby Name Post

*DISCLAIMER*

Still not pregnant. Still not trying. Still not close.

But like any other normal female, I've had a list of baby names I like since circa age 10.

And since The Beard and I rarely agree on stuff and fight about pretty much everything (like music, for instance), I thought it prudent to talk about baby names early so we can work up to a good list and fight less when we actually have to name a tiny human. That's extreme, you say?

"You act like you get any say! You're gonna be KO'ed on the table and I'm gonna be the one filling out the birth certificate! And even then, I'LL be the one blessing it in sacrament. I can just change it on the spot and those are the records of THE CHURCH!" - The Beard.

Sunday School is usually the time we work on our list of potential baby names that we like. See if you can guess who chose which names.

On "Stealing" Baby Names - the only people who can truly "steal" baby names that will affect you in the long run are your siblings.  So talk with them if you're worried and GET OVER IT.

Boys

• Reepicheep
• Jacoby (Obi Wan Jacoby, to be precise)
• Jonah
• Boromir
• Dwight (80% kidding)
• Walter 
• Aslan
• Porter
• Apollo (already taken by our fake baby)
• Ender
• Samuel/Samwise

Girls

• Leila (or Layla, according to The Beard. psh. no.)
• Josie
• Arwen
• Lucy
• Leia
• Blair (headbands required)
• Alice
• Norah
• Eowyn (He insisted I add this one even though I don't have the special 'E' character)
• Amelia

Twins

• Merry & Pippin
• Fred & George
• Luke & Leia (weird, though, because they kiss...)
• Blair & Serena
• Peter & Edmund
• Stevie & Nick (get it??) 

 I'm not sure if I should be embarrassed by the number of LOTR, Star Wars and Narnia names on this list. No, I'm not. I'm pretty excited about it.

Although I don't know how we'll narrow it down or how I'll keep The Beard from naming our kids after Narnian animals.

I Find Your Lack Of Spirit Disturbing

It's Spirit Week here at Sunset Ridge! Not quite the same as your typical high school spirit week, but we try. When I was in high school it was like "Pajama Day!" "Crazy Hair Day!" "Cross-Dress Day!" (hard to believe we actually did that one. Ah the days before political correctedness!)

Yesterday was "Thrift Shop Day." Thanks, Macklemore. For those of you who don't know this reference, it's ok. I had to try to explain it to some of the other teachers and even then I struggled.  I didn't dress up simply because I didn't have a fur coat OR a velour jumpsuit OR a broken keyboard. Hell, I didn't even have $20 in my pocket.



Today, though, I got into it. Hero/Villain Day. It was really hard choosing between my several different Darth Vader shirts, but I decided on the "Who's Your Daddy?" one. I've also been super into the graphic tee/pencil skirt/heels trend but I don't usually wear graphic tees to school. Win/Win today. Although I have to explain to some kids that Darth Vader and whiny little Anakin are the same person. Ew.

 

Tomorrow is Nerd Day. The Beard's comment when I told him? "Oh, cool. So you'll just dress normally." Thanks, babe. To amplify my nerdiness, I'm thinking my glasses and my Harry Potter tee. Maybe a calculator watch. We'll see.

Friday is Sports Day and the Fun Run. Last year I wore one of my BYU shirts and I got MAD HECKLED by 80% of the kids. What the? That's when I really knew I wasn't in Kansas (Utah County) anymore. This year I think I'll go with a more neutral Team USA tee, because although I am a Cougar, my bleeding blue is subject to heckling/arguments/my crazy Ute cousins getting on my case.

Stuff like this makes it so fun to be a teacher. I also dress up for certain lessons - red, white and blue for election days/Constitution Study/War of 1812 (the Star Spangled Banner, duh), my tricorn hat when I gush about George Washington, Boston tee for the Boston Massacre and Tea Party, etc. I'm all about themed dressing up. Check out my Swiss milkmaid braids that I rocked for Swiss Days with my ladies! So much fun.

Am I the only person who likes to dress for events? Not even costumes, just my normal clothes. The Beard is pretty convinced that I'm crazy and he will NEVER outfit-coordinate with me. Years later, you'll find me dressing my kids to match me. I'm gonna be THAT mom. Yikes. I hate myself already.

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!

The Birthday King

The Beard has a varied and extensive skill set: basic skills like being incredibly smart with insane reading comprehension, and his impressive social aptitude for meeting people and making friends.

But he also has the most random assortment of what he calls "skills of a misspent youth."

• Family tech support - he knows pretty much everything about computers, iPhones and anything with an on button
• He can break into anything in under a minute. Suspicious.
• Pensmanship. He has 4 distinct fonts. All better than my handwriting. 
• Amazing cook. I don't know why he puts up with my basic and unimpressive cooking when everything he makes is 100x more delicious. 
• Fencing. Not sure why. But he's crazy good at it. 
• Building/fixing things.
• Ability to rattle off sports statistics (mostly baseball) for obscure players 10 years ago.
• Great with babies, kids and puppies. Drool-worthy, you guys. 

Probably the most surprising to me is that he's not your average male crappy gift-giver.

The Beard is the King of Birthdays.

The last two weeks have been awesome because he hit it out of the park once again. Not only with thoughtful gifts (new scriptures to replace my high school seminary copies that are falling apart and read "Danica Anne Budge", a Yoda bobblehead, iPad keyboard, to name a few) but with the way he makes me feel special. I got cute emails from him throughout the day, and even though that day was stressful and exhausting I was so excited to come home and have fun with him.

He carried around all the gifts from my awesome family around the mall while I found a pair of pants to replace a crotch-hole pair (the worst).

He turned on The Office for me and set up my new keyboard, and even let me nap!

He got tickets for us to see Thriller - which is huge. The Beard doesn't relish the theater. It's pushing it to get him to go to a movie, let alone people jumping around in tights IN PERSON. But he knew I had wanted to see it and just came through.

It was awesome and we had so much fun, even if we had to fight about parking (always). :)

I love the Birthday King.

Even if he didn't believe me that I'm 23 now.

Happy Birthday Mr. President (Beard)!

You are the Jim to my Pam.

The Andy to my April.

The Han Solo to my Leia. 

The Kirk to my Spock.

The Samwise to my Frodo. 

 

The father to my Glen Coco and future baby/puppy Holdaways. 

My rock, my relief and my very best friend. 

I'm so glad I tricked you into marrying me. 

Happy Birthday Beard! Love you!

The Best Video Ever

My friend Sierra shared this and I freaking LOVE IT. The dancing Ewoks are cute enough, but Vader, Obi Wan and the gang just get me every time. Watch and enjoy.


I've got a few blog posts in the works, I'll be back soon! I promise!

I Find Your Lack of Geek Disturbing...

Tomorrow is one of my favorite non-observed holidays - May the Fourth. As in May the Force Be With You. As in National Star Wars Day. I've loved Star Wars since my dad took me to see the re-release in the 90s. When I was in 9th grade the remastered editions came out on DVD and I watched them over and over and over.

**The "new" Star Wars, Episodes 1-3 are not real Star Wars. I am not going to be an obnoxious fan and freak out over them. I enjoyed them. The effects were cool and they were a lot of fun to watch. But they are not real Star Wars. You should not judge the Star Wars saga by the newer movies. Go see them in 3D though! Visually  incredible!**

The title of this post is a misnomer. Star Wars is beloved by geeks, certainly, but was not created exclusively for them. There is a reason everyone recognizes the Imperial March. Everyone recognizes Chewie, Yoda, Han, Princess Leia and her buns. Every kid wants to play with light sabers. There's a reason this did so well, although having an adorable little kid helps.




Star Wars are arguably the best movies ever made. They were sci-fi, action, suspense, romance, comedy and drama. They blew everyone away with their stunning visuals and special effects - keep in mind A New Hope came out in 1977. 1977!

They are classics. Still watched. Still referenced. Still relevant. They just don't make them like that anymore!

So I am going to spend my weekend watching these. Wearing this. Drinking out of this. Impressed? I also have 2 Star Wars lunchboxes. But I thought that would be overkill.

My plea to you is this. Watch them. Enjoy them. I've never met a single person who said they didn't like them after watching the original trilogy. Just do it. Finally see why they won't ever go away. You'll never regret it.

It's Like Seeing A Dog Walk On It's Hind Legs!

When I was running BYUStyle (best blogging days of my life!), The Beard came up with the concept for a blogging series called "Sometimes, Always, Never." I thought it was great, but the post I wrote never got published and then we fizzled with graduating. But I'm going to do it now!

I live in the town where I teach. It has it's drawbacks. In fact, one of our teachers is leaving to teach at another school because he doesn't like to teach where he lives. I've lived here my whole life, so it isn't as big of a deal, but there is the inconvenience of often seeing my kids outside of school.

There are good and bad scenarios to being a teacher outside of the school walls.

Here's when I like being seen as a teacher in the real world:

SOMETIMES

When I see my students at the mall or in restaurants. We usually exchange smiles and a quick wave. Or if they don't see me I pretend to not see them. Visa versa, probably. Not a huge deal. SOMETIMES weird if they are weird about it. Whatever.

ALWAYS

Tuesday night when we were at Magleby's for our romantic little Valentine's date, I ran into a mom of one of my students. We communicate frequently about his progress and we've become friends. She was so happy to see me and quickly pulled her husband over to meet me, and took the time to meet and introduce her husband to The Beard as well. After the issues with parents at the beginning of this term, it was really nice to see good, happy parents who appreciate teachers. That will ALWAYS be welcome.

NEVER

The day before Thanksgiving, 10 pm, I'm in the kitchen making desserts to take to our double duty Thanksgiving festivities. I realize that I need more cream cheese for the mini-cheesecakes and we need to run to Reams super quick. How do I look?

Hair in a messy top knot (not in the chic way, but in the "I'm cooking" way.)

Oversized Star Wars t-shirt, hitting about mid-thigh

Black leggings. Probably with some flour fingerprints.

Boots, NOT Uggs. Let the record show that I was NOT wearing Uggs.

10 pm makeup - probably smudged or disappearing.

As I climb out of the car at Reams, I hear it. The dreaded:

"Dude. Isn't that your TEACHER?"

Two kids chillin on skateboards, drinking their Mountain Dew spot me and yell "Hey, Mrs. Holdaway! What are you doing? Cool Star Wars shirt? Is this your husband?" and who knows how many other things.

I was ambushed, you guys. I don't expect junior high kids to be out at 10:30 pm in public by themselves. I looked FANTASTIC obviously. So that's when it's NEVER ok to be a teacher outside of school. Basically just when I look like a WoW nerd in public.

22

When I was little, I wanted to be old. When I'm old, I'm sure I'll want to be little.

But right now, I'm completely content. Here's 22 reasons why.

1. I'm alive!

2. The Gospel in my life

3. My everything. (Ryan)

4. My incredible family that doubled over the summer and just keeps growing. :)

5. The Office (see babe? I put you above The Office!!!!)

6. Arrested Development

7. Besties. I don't know what I'd do without Eliesa, Katie, Jeanette & Courtney. Even if we go days/weeks without seeing eachother/talking.

8. Tina Fey. (I'm reading her book right now and loving it.Also, Mean Girls had a huge impact on me)

9. My job. I love teaching. There must be something wrong with me.

10. The kids. Crazy? Weird? Gross? Selfish? Lazy? Lovable.

11. Orville Redenbacher's Pop-Up Microwave Popcorn bowl. Also comes with free redbox rentals.

12. Just Dance 2. The only way I work out anymore. I'm so freaking good, you guys.

13. Twitter. You may call me an addict. But I really, REALLY love Twitter. (Follow Me.)

14. CDP. If you have to ask what that means you don't get it. (It means Classy Dinner Party)

15. Allure & Elle Magazine on Newsstand and the new iCloud. The Beard is introducing me to a whole new world of technology.

16. Star Wars Collector's Edition. Best early birthday present of all time.

17. Pinterest. You get it.

18. Our cute little house that I'm slowly learning to domesticate (pictures to come... someday).

19. Being done with school. Every time I see my friends tweet/post about homework, it makes me sick for a second before I remember "suckas!"

20. Missionaries. Jessica, Justin, Jake, Jesslyn. Wow. Just now realizing all my missionaries are Js. Love you all. Thank you for your great example of selfless service.

21. Kindle and iBooks for iPad. Welcome back, Bookworm Danica. We've missed you since 2008.

22. Knowing there are great years to follow these past amazing 22.

Thanks for all your love! I love you all!

Cinema

I love movies. I always have. When I was a kid/teenager, my family used to go to movies like crazy. Almost every Saturday afternoon we'd fill ourselves with tubs of popcorn and Diet Coke while enjoying the latest action, science fiction or comedy film. I particularly remember the comic book and Lord of the Rings movies. My dad would buy a chunk of tickets and we'd go with all our friends, passing the time with card games and making fun of people. I miss that.

Now, it's Netflix, 24/7. I made the decision to get Netflix this summer because I wasn't taking classes. I thought, "Hey, I'll probably get rid of it in the fall when school starts up again." No. I won't give it up. I'm never letting it go. I am almost CONSTANTLY watching a movie or TV show. Right now it's an episode of Reno 911! Hulu is also a companion of mine. YouTube is particularly awesome. I watched all of the original series after the new movie kicked my, well... it was awesome.

Ok, so let's just say I had to rank my top 5 movies. This would be it. But it is subject to change.

1. The Phantom of the Opera (2004). Anyone who knows me at all knows this. In 9th grade I was unhealthy about this. This movie simply astounds me. The music needs no explanation. I fell in love with the costumes, the scenery, the actors and actresses. I became completely enamored with the romance, action, and suspense. I will watch this movie at any moment of any day.

2. The Little Mermaid (1989). Cheesy. I know. But I watched this every day, sometimes multiple times a day, for a significant portion of my youth. It reminds me of who I am. I sing "Part of Your World" in the shower regularly. Oddly, I hate the ocean.

3. Anchorman (2004). This is the most hilarious, quotable movie ever. I think Will Ferrell is the best. Last week my dad bought me a "Stay Classy, San Diego" T-shirt. It's fantastic. Did anyone NOT like this movie?

4. Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980). If I could list the Trilogy as one movie, I would. They are incredible. I've loved them for as long as I can remember. Han Solo is THE MAN. I have always identified with Leia. Naturally, I love the romance there. Sometimes Darth Vader is in my dreams.

5. Star Trek (2009). JJ Abrams has the Midas touch. I thought this movie would be entertaining but largely cult-classic material. It swept my Memorial Day weekend in '09. I was BLOWN AWAY. I loved it. I found myself incredibly attracted to Spock. This took my nerd-dom to a whole new level. I immediately began watching TOS and loved that even more. You can appreciate the movie better after watching the originals. Leonard Nimoy is phenomenal, and all of the new young actors absolutely NAILED their parts. Great movie.