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.

Work It

This is my inspiration for a project to be completed this weekend. Or next weekend. Or soon....

We have nice little Ikea desks, plenty of pictures and shiz to hang, even sparkly little lights.

Fingers crossed I'll get it done soon and I'll update with some photos when I do. Any hanging/mounting tips and tricks will be appreciated.

Super hoping having a cute little workspace will make me more productive. Now, how to be productive enough to make a workspace to make me productive...

It Takes One to Know One

So this last week I've kind of felt like the lady in the white shirt.


Still hanging in there guys, don't you worry. But if anyone wants to send me additional YouTube videos or go get cupcakes with me, I'm not saying I couldn't use it. Two 4-day weeks with a 4 day weekend is definitely helping. Do you know how much cuddling I've done with Glen Coco? The limit does not exist.

So on Saturday we went on a classy double date with the in-laws. Tsunami off 106th is our new joint. It used to be Sammy's back in the day (no, really. It was OUR place. Check their Facebook pic.), but now the waiters know us here. Seriously the sushi is amazing.

We also took them to Pirate-O's, which made me super nostalgic about when I was in the U.K. two summers ago. Man I want to travel again.

Finally, we took them to Scheels since they had never been. We love Scheels: athletic gear, clothes and American Presidents? Yahtzee.

Anyway, I wanted to talk about what happens when I see other girls and their style out and about. I often wonder if I'm the only one that does this.

I'm obvs super judgy about bad outfits. Mostly just things that are in bad taste - ill-fitting, immodest, dirty, bad condition, Uggs, etc. But it doesn't make me necessarily dislike the person. It's more of a "Oh honey. Let me come over and rake your closet." Condescending and judgmental still, I know.

However, when I see a girl with great style, I am not filled with jealousy or even envy (maybe a little if she's got a really expensive bag or shoes). I see that girl with great style and think "All right girlfriend. I'd like to be your friend. We'll get along."

So at Scheels the other night, I see a girl wearing a very cute military-style red coat with semi-ruffly peplum along the bottom. I motioned to my mother-in-law and said "I love her coat!" then turned my back and kept walking.

My mother-in-law caught up with me in a few seconds, laughing. "After you walked off that girl sure gave you a look!" Apparently this girl, after seeing me smile and point out her coat, maybe even hearing me say I liked it, looked me up and down with disdain.

Ok I was starting to feel the effects of the flu that now has me huddled like a fetus near my baby fireplace. But please girlfriend. Try not to be so obvious when you judge other people. I can at least hide it, so you better practice. Maybe you could practice in the mirror wearing your cheap mid-calf boots. They are fodder enough for acidic stares.

A Real Hippie Wouldn't Hurt Bambi

I hope you're intrigued by that title. It's hard to believe, but it is actually relevant to my Saturday night.

On Friday one of my besties from high school - Mckensie crashed with me, and Gabi came over to hang with us. We stayed up late braiding our hair and watching puppy videos on YouTube like any other 14 year olds at a sleepover. We even played M.A.S.H. (no, we didn't.)

I slept in and read in bed until 1 pm like a really responsible adult. After breakfast and several Office episodes in my sweats The Beard talked me into showering and getting ready. (He bribed me with Target and the Library.)

Now comes the Hippie part. My bangs were not particularly cooperative. Plus Gabi had shown me a more effective way to fishtail braid my hair. The only option was this turban/bandana/wrap/headband that I originally bought to wear to Seven Peaks.

If you know me at all, you know I'm pretty much as far from a hippie as you can get. No one has and no one will ever describe my style as "Boho" or "Hippie Chic" because all of my clothes are fitted, black and not out of place at a funeral.

So it was kind of fun to wear an outfit my dad would call "hipster" and caused the Beard to look questioningly at my head. Gotta mix it up, you know?

After outfit photos and picking up my 6 items on hold at the awesome Draper Library, we were off to my second favorite weakness - Target. Those dollar bins are ALWAYS my kryptonite, but especially when they feature Star Wars items. Yahtzee.

Great day right? Going really well. Star Wars. Libraries. Outfit photos. Even a Sonic run.

Soon to be nearly ruined when I hit a deer on the way home. Now, I grew up in Mapleton so I've had my fair share of close shaves with deer. But I've never hit one. For once in my life I was not speeding, so we didn't hit him very hard. He got up and pranced away, and there was minimal damage to the plastic fender flare on my Jeep.

Traumatic damage to my emotional state, however. We're talking bawling and hyperventilating. I just felt so BAD. I didn't mean to hit you, little guy! I promise! I'm really sorry if you are bruised and sore! I hope your family took care of you and you warned all of them to stay off that winding, poorly lit road.

I'm sure the Beard was equal parts embarrassed and concerned about my reaction, but he was so good at remaining calm and reassuring. I'd have probably run into the woods to apologize to Bambi if he hadn't been there. He even took his crazy wife to the movies later to cheer her up.

Lesson Learned: if you dress like a hippie/gypsy while driving a gas guzzling SUV the universe will put you right back in your place.

Danica is a Time-Traveler

Why am I a Time-Traveler you might ask? Well it's because I was able to rewind 2013 and re-designate TODAY as the first day of the New Year. Pretty impressive, right?

Here's why. Last week was awful. Just bad. For so many reasons, in so many spheres... just.... EW. I'm not a big believer in pity parties, sob stories, Negative Nellies, etc. So I'm not going to air my grievances or be a Downer Danica.

But I'm also a big believer in honesty and not hiding problems or issues. I love when bloggers - you know, the perfect one? The one who always seems gorgeous, put together, crafty, spiritual and amazing? - I love when those bloggers admit to being down on themselves, sad or discouraged.

REALITY.

Anyway. Last week sucked. I had the aforementioned breakdown. Several, really. And I was all kinds of worried for the future.

So I took matters into my own hands and declared today, Monday January 7, the REAL New Years Day. Today is the first week of the year. Today I really focus on my resolutions. Today I am not watching Office reruns in my sweats, sobbing into bowls of popcorn. (Well. Maybe later.)

Thanks to Glen Coco, a CDP with our besties the Findeis' and a blessing from the Beard, I'm feeling so much better and ready to take the bull by the horns. I'm looking at you 2013.

Last week I posted that OUR 2013 goal/resolution/hope was to figure shiz out and have real adult lives by next Christmas.

My personal resolutions are a little more specific.

1. Better Church Attendance/Magnify my Calling. Kind of sucked at that this year. 
2. Yoga, yoga and more yoga. 
3. Be more neat at school and home - which really means that I'm going to try hard to put things AWAY, clean up after myself immediately, and not be cluttered. See ya later, piles of papers, books and magazines!
4. Plan outfits by week. I feel so much better and more put together, not to mention my personal style is way more chic when not thrown together at 6 am in the dark. Yikes.
5. Try new recipes weekly - we used to cook like crazy when we were both home by 5 pm. The Beard's late work schedule has thrown a wrench in those plans and I eat popcorn for dinner about 3 nights a week. Double Yikes

But the biggest one is the best one. Also the most obscure and probs the most difficult. 

 

My biggest resolution is to be kinder, nicer, more empathetic, more caring and more filled with charity. 

Believe it or not, I'm not as mean in real life as I am on this blog.  I'm actually fairly nice. Promise. But it's not my strong point. I'm crazy judgy and a huge snob about meaningless things like grammar and style. And Harry Potter.

I just want to be nicer. So I'm studying charity, love, humility, service, all the good stuff in the scriptures. I'm going to give stuff to every homeless person I see. Seriously. You can hold me to that. I'm going to smile and chat with strangers.  Make goodies for people. Have real meaningful interactions via social media - complimenting, connecting, leaving people feeling happy. 

I started already with a wrong number texter. Best instagram I've ever posted, according to the feedback received.

I just want to leave people feeling better than they did before they saw me. I used to be more like that. These middle school kids and early mornings have slowly crushed my soul. But I'm gonna get it back.

So here's to you 2013! You are now officially allowed to start!

2013: The Year of Bad Decisions

Ok, it won't really be the year of bad decisions. That's just one of the Beard's favorite phrases.

Nearly every year I have a breakdown around New Years. It's the Type A planner's cross to bear. A whole new year to plan, a blank calendar, far too many unanswered questions, far too many possibilities.

I bought a new planner. All the blank pages freak me out. I find myself trying to put at least SOMETHING on each page. The unknown freaking KILLS me.

This year could be big for us. Who knows. We could be in the same spot doing the same thing a year from now. But I hope we're not.

Things are awesome right now, and we are super lucky. Life is so fun, we have great jobs and the best puppy in the entire world. So I definitely don't mean to sound ungrateful.

We are just excited to figure things out. Things just haven't felt REAL yet, and we want them to.

And that's our New Years Resolution - by this time next year, we'll have everything figured out and be REAL.

My fingers are crossed that we'll be on Mission Beach in San Diego.

The Beard hopes that it will be with his feet up on a desk in Fenway Park.

I guess that's the fun and scary thing about a generalized, open-ended resolution. We have no idea what or where or how it could happen.

That's where faith and hope and all that jazz come in. We'll go where you want us to go, dear Lord.

As long as that place has no snow.