Writing Advice

Help me create my series of short stories which will be premiering on my blog this September!

My Favorite Tweets That No One Cared About

I love Twitter and if a random thought pops into my head, I will Tweet it out to my not so loving followers. I love my followers, anyone who agrees to follow anything I do on social media or this blog are heroes to me, but there's isn't always love being returned. Hence, this blog post.

Below are some of my favorite Tweets that I've sent that didn't receive much love, but I can't get over them and am upset no one liked them. We're dealing with some popularity complexes in this post apparently.

(These are only going back to February of last year, though I'm positive when I first joined Twitter there was zero love for me.)

Chris very rudely turned to me and asked "Who's going to die in your book?" And thus, our #ValentinesDay was ruined. #DancingCowBookClub

— Kaylee ♡ (@cowgirl_kaylee) February 14, 2015

Farkle is like my worst nightmare, it involves math and it's not even real math! #ihategames

— Kaylee ♡ (@cowgirl_kaylee) February 15, 2015

I finally gave Chris his birthday gift and he loved it! #birthday #ipod #mylover pic.twitter.com/LcULJJHrjh

— Kaylee ♡ (@cowgirl_kaylee) February 19, 2015

Alright Twitterverse, you're the first to know that my new #YouTube video is up and running! https://t.co/K0EqZQOa3U pic.twitter.com/sBZ5LIoRwI

— Kaylee ♡ (@cowgirl_kaylee) February 23, 2015

(This is actually kind of cool to look at because yesterday when I Tweeted I had a new video going up it got 5 likes in like twenty minutes. So seeing how far I've come is interesting.)

I had to teach the husband how to tweet so he could finish an assignment. I'm a good wife. #twitter #marriedlife

— Kaylee ♡ (@cowgirl_kaylee) March 5, 2015

(And now Chris Tweets all the time and gets a lot of feedback because the soccer world (which is all he Tweets about) is very vocal. You're welcome Chris.)

This is one of my most favorite things. #hahaha #HarryPotter #owlsaresmart pic.twitter.com/ZHvGDgt5kP

— Kaylee ♡ (@cowgirl_kaylee) March 8, 2015

(This is still one of my most favorite things.)

I wonder if the bouncing of this bus will count on my #Fitbit... #conserviceshuttleride

— Kaylee ♡ (@cowgirl_kaylee) March 17, 2015

(It did, by the way.)

Apparently I make us watch #HowToTrainYourDragon too much, Chris is basically quoting the whole thing to make me feel better. #favoritemovie

— Kaylee ♡ (@cowgirl_kaylee) March 28, 2015

(This was literally the best thing ever. He went through the whole second movie because I was in too much pain to fall asleep. When I told the story on Facebook it got a lot of love, just not on Twitter.)

"I needed answers like a fish needs a bicycle... a lot." #Community #qotd

— Kaylee ♡ (@cowgirl_kaylee) April 4, 2015

My hair is a different color in all my #Instagram pics... that's cool I guess. #hair #longhairdontcare pic.twitter.com/L3C3yk6rBL

— Kaylee ♡ (@cowgirl_kaylee) April 11, 2015

You know it's too quiet when you can hear your fish chewing... #DukeFarnes #FarnesFamilyFishes

— Kaylee ♡ (@cowgirl_kaylee) April 14, 2015

I'm a chaperone for a stake dance tonight. Currently I've been mistaken for a teenager twice.

— Kaylee ♡ (@cowgirl_kaylee) April 19, 2015

Has anyone taken #Hobbit footage of the dwarfs names and put it to the song Nicest Kids in Town from #Hairspray? That should be a thing.

— Kaylee ♡ (@cowgirl_kaylee) April 21, 2015

(Okay, this one did get one like and one retweet, but I still want this to be a thing.)

So tired I was rambling and said "I want to lose weight. I want cake." And Chris just laughed. #marriedlife

— Kaylee ♡ (@cowgirl_kaylee) April 26, 2015

Thank you @jimmyjohns for giving me a free sandwich when I realized I didn't have enough money. This is why you're my favorite place.

— Kaylee ♡ (@cowgirl_kaylee) April 27, 2015

I have a serious disease called "I want to be a writer" that causes me to stay up all night #writing leaving me exhausted all day at work.

— Kaylee ♡ (@cowgirl_kaylee) May 5, 2015

The song "Staying Alive" now forever reminds me of Moriarty... #Sherlock #SHERLOCKED

— Kaylee ♡ (@cowgirl_kaylee) May 13, 2015

Quote from Chris: "I donated enough money to the baby so he could open up a nice shop in the city." #Zelda #TwilightPrincess #marriedlife

— Kaylee ♡ (@cowgirl_kaylee) May 20, 2015

(Sorry, I know this one has a like too, but come on! How could I not post this ridiculous quote?)

And later from Chris: "That little ungrateful baby! He thinks he's soooo smart." #Zelda #TwilightPrincess #Imarriedagamer

— Kaylee ♡ (@cowgirl_kaylee) May 20, 2015

My phone decided to sit down and start an update five minutes before my alarm was supposed to go off. It's lucky I was already awake. 😒

— Kaylee ♡ (@cowgirl_kaylee) May 28, 2015

(I'm only posting this one because I'm pretty sure it's supposed to say "shut down" not "sit down" and I love that it's taken me this long to realize that.)

Today I learned my coworkers think I'm intimidating. As a depressed introvert with social anxiety disorder, this is certainly news to me.

— Kaylee ♡ (@cowgirl_kaylee) June 22, 2015

I feel #Feminism has turned into hating on men or on women who act differently than you but really it's supporting women acting as they want

— Kaylee ♡ (@cowgirl_kaylee) July 30, 2015

Our lil' pumpkin is coming in April. #iampregnant #ChrisandKaylee pic.twitter.com/DYDaZTNRx7

— Kaylee ♡ (@cowgirl_kaylee) October 9, 2015

(I know my pregnancy didn't work out, but it really bothers me that this announcement got only one like on Twitter. Yes, not many of my personal, "real life" friends are on Twitter, and I did receive a lot of love on Facebook, but pregnancy is supposed to be a truly happy thing and to not have much of a response is a bit upsetting... even more upsetting since I miscarried and nothing resulted of it.)

My stomach is starting to pop out, but it still looks a bit more like weight gain than #pregnancy so I'm still hiding it. #14weeks

— Kaylee ♡ (@cowgirl_kaylee) October 14, 2015

(Sadly, at 14 weeks it was mostly weight gain, since the baby stopped growing at 12 weeks.)

I've never had surgery before. And I'm a little nervous.

— Kaylee ♡ (@cowgirl_kaylee) November 4, 2015

(Looking back now, this was the only indication on my Twitter page that I had miscarried. There was no announcement.)

It's really hard to go from "I'm having a baby in April" to "Someday I'll have a baby." I miss my baby. :(

— Kaylee ♡ (@cowgirl_kaylee) November 7, 2015

(Sorry this post is getting a little dark, but I just want to say how badly I want April to come and go. I truly feel like after April 9th I can stop thinking so much about the baby I had lost, because the time frame will be gone. I'll never stop loving and missing my baby, but I think I'll heal better after the due date.)

I'm pretty sure @MeghanRienks and #FelicitySmoak are the same person. For reals. #Arrow

— Kaylee ♡ (@cowgirl_kaylee) November 9, 2015

My Zoram is the cutest thing ever. #zoramgerrard #puppy pic.twitter.com/un50R4aDUs

— Kaylee ♡ (@cowgirl_kaylee) December 6, 2015

Browsing #Pinterest and found #SaltLakeCity pretending to be Denver. I know my #mountains though, I can't be fooled. pic.twitter.com/fYkD6aY9iB

— Kaylee ♡ (@cowgirl_kaylee) December 24, 2015

Somebody find me a job where it's socially acceptable for me to wear this dress everyday. #gorgeous #love pic.twitter.com/hTonsdcaGQ

— Kaylee ♡ (@cowgirl_kaylee) December 24, 2015

I'm taking advantage of my cold to eat all my Christmas candy and not go to the gym. Getting fit can wait when you're sick, right? #sickday

— Kaylee ♡ (@cowgirl_kaylee) January 2, 2016

Sometimes you have to pretend to be asleep so your husband cleans up the dog's mess. That's how marriage works. #ChrisandKaylee #love

— Kaylee ♡ (@cowgirl_kaylee) January 13, 2016

I had a dream I had a baby, and I didn't wake up sad, I woke up determined. #lifeaftermiscarriage #Babyhungry

— Kaylee ♡ (@cowgirl_kaylee) January 18, 2016

Zoram's pee pad has the exact print of #mickeymouse. I'm impressed with my pup's aim. #zoramgerrard

— Kaylee ♡ (@cowgirl_kaylee) January 29, 2016

My #Snapchat story is mildly entertaining right now. I'm so bored! Username: cowgirlkaylee22 #ChrisandKaylee #love pic.twitter.com/K4cPxALUol

— Kaylee ♡ (@cowgirl_kaylee) February 4, 2016

This is my new favorite family photo. #FarnesFamily #ChrisandKaylee #zoramgerrard #roadtrip pic.twitter.com/XfAoicSOAT

— Kaylee ♡ (@cowgirl_kaylee) February 17, 2016

This is the only picture needed for #NationalToastDay. #jackblack #goodtoast pic.twitter.com/SvIsyzdmyp

— Kaylee ♡ (@cowgirl_kaylee) February 24, 2016

(I'm honestly offended no one liked this one. Especially my husband who agreed it was the perfect thing to post that day.)

#qotd from @Cfarnes89: "Puppy and I like to make out, but we just rub our faces together." Ha ha, what?!? #zoramgerrard #puppylove #haha

— Kaylee ♡ (@cowgirl_kaylee) March 4, 2016

And finally, I've learned if you want people to start liking your Tweets, get a puppy. 

If you feel unloved on Twitter, I promise you it doesn't mean anything. Everyone is loved, Twitter is just dumb. But for the next week I'll do a follow for a follow, if if you follow my Twitter this week, I will follow you back and give you a like to one of your Tweets. Sounds worth it to me.

Welcome to 2016!

Welcome to 2016 and the new and improved "The Dancing Cow" blog page! I'm sure you've already seen the makeover, but what you haven't seen are the many posts I have planned for this year. This year is going to be BIG. I have so much planned and I'm being much more organized about it, so let's take a look at what you'll see this year on my blog!

CHARITY OF THE MONTH

This is the big one. When I first started this blog I knew I wanted to use it to bring awareness and donations to different charities. Somewhere along the way I got too discouraged since I'm almost always broke. But even if I can't always afford to give a lot to the charities I enjoy, I can still share them with you and still make a difference.

Every month there will be a new charity. This year is basically all planned out, but suggestions are always welcome and may even beat out the ones I have planned. If you do suggest a charity to me it will be featured on my Charity of the Month page where everyone can see it for all eternity. To suggest a charity just email me at thedancingcowblogger@gmail.com with info about your charity and how to donate. You can also write a guest post about your charity on my blog, just send me an email and we'll see what we can do.

By myself I can't make much of a difference, but with your help we can bring awareness to the many charities out there and help people all over the world that are in need.

FASHION FRIDAY

I say all the time that Fashion Friday is a thing, but it really hasn't been. This year I'm making more of an effort, but please keep in mind it probably won't happen every Friday. Especially right now when the sun sets so early, it's very difficult for me to get good enough pictures since I work all day. Just be patient with me and I'll do my best.

WRITING

I say it all the time, I AM GOING TO BE A WRITER. I am going to publish a book someday. But in order to do that, I should probably get comfortable with letting people read my writing. This year you'll be seeing a lot more of my writing up on my blog. I'm working on poems and short stories and I'm going to be sharing them with you! To easily find all my writing posts you can click HERE.

YOUTUBE VIDEOS

I have a YouTube page. It's been around for almost a year but you probably don't know about it because I haven't done much with it. This year I am planning on posting a video to YouTube every other Wednesday. All those videos I will automatically post to my blog as well so you have fast access to them, but you should also subscribe to my channel to get instant notice when videos are uploaded.

In addition to my planned videos, I am working to do vlogs of my daily life with Chris. Those videos will be a bit more random about when I post them, but I should have at least one a month. These vlogs are just going to be about our fun life together with Zoram... Zoram is our puppy. I haven't once said on this blog yet that we got a puppy. But we have a puppy. His name is Zoram Gerrard Farnes and he is adorable.

GIVEAWAYS

What kind of blogger would I be if I didn't have a couple giveaways? I probably will only have 4 this year, probably do it like a quarterly thing. Keep in mind that I am very poor so giveaways will only happen if I am financially stable and if this blog can get more sponsorship. Speaking of which...

 SHOUT OUTS AND SPONSORING

While this blog is about me and my life, it wouldn't exist without you, the readers. So I want to highlight you. Every month during my Monthly Favorite's post I will give shout outs to some of my favorite comments and followers from all types of social media. I honestly could not do this without you and you deserve to be recognized.

I do have a tab on my blog about Sponsoring. I offer a variety of ad sizes at different costs so you can have your own blog, YouTube page, or company advertised on this page. Now I'm not into blogging strictly for the money (which is apparent since I've been doing this four years and haven't made one cent) so 50% of any proceeds will go directly to the Charity of the Month. This way you can advertise your blog and help a charity at the same time. It's a win-win situation. Of the remainder, 30% will go back to you guys through giveaways. I may be poor, but I don't need money from blogging and I'd much rather use it on charities and you.

BEING HAPPY AND HAVING FUN

Last year was honestly one of the hardest years of my life. I have high hopes for this year, mostly because I'm going to make it great. I'm not going to wait around to do fun things or be happy, I'm going to be happy now. My theme song for the year is Tomorrow Never Comes by the Zac Brown Band and I am going to live my life doing things now, being happy now, because you never should put off what you could do today.



This year is going to be awesome! I already have a calendar with posts lined up and I'm so excited to share them all with you! Don't forget to follow my blog, and find me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr, and Snapchat so you can always keep up to date with new posts. I love you all and HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Where Am I?!?

Hello my friends. This blog title is probably what you're all thinking. I got back from Jackson Hole and started all these crafts for Pinterest Projects and got a planner to start organizing posts better, and then I got lazy again.

It's been a weird week for me. Last week flew by way too quickly and I felt like I was constantly go, go, go, and I couldn't breathe, so I spent my weekend doing nothing but watching Glee in my pajamas on my couch. And then the new week started and life got crazy again.

I wanted to say that I really appreciated the responses from my recent survey. You guys gave me some great ideas and things to think about and I'm already working on changing up posts for this blog, even if you won't see it for a while.

This month marks the 3 year "blogiversary" for The Dancing Cow. This is the first year it has it's own URL and the name is different than when it started, but I'm still not where I thought I would be by now. I thought for sure I would have hundreds of followers, but that's been proven wrong. It doesn't help that basically for the last year my blogging has been incredibly sparse. How can I get followers if I don't even post anything? Truth is I can't.

So this year is going to be different and it may not seem like it for a while, but it'll get there. Does anyone remember my theme song for the year? It is Butterflies and Hurricanes by Muse. I want to bring up one line from the song that has been on my mind a lot lately:

"Best, you've got to be the best, you've got to change the world, and use this chance to be heard. Your time is now." 

I've spent a lifetime feeling invisible. But the truth is that I'm not. I have ideas, I have potential, I have passion. I started this blog to bring awareness to different charities in an attempt to help the world become I better place. I started this blog as a place to express my feelings and thoughts that no one else would listen to. I started this blog to make friends.

My follower numbers may be small, but I have the best internet friends in the world who I can always count on to love and support me when I need them. This is my chance to be heard. This is my time.

As a result, this new blog year is bringing back Charity of the Month to help us all remember to give back a little. I'm going to be showing more of my biggest passion, writing, with a special story that will be coming up soon. I'm going to bring back my Book Club, but in a different way. I'll continue doing Fashion Friday and Happy Tuesday posts and bring you more YouTube videos. These are all promises to you. It's going to happen. This is my time.

So for the last year, maybe even more, you've been asking yourself, "Where is Kaylee? Why does she never blog anymore? Why doesn't she like us anymore?"  Well I'm here to tell you that I'm back, I'm ready, and I'm never giving up on this blog. This is my chance to be heard.

___________________________________________________________________

NOTE: For my upcoming writing project I want illustrations to go along with my stories. So if you're an artist who would like to help me out, please message me on my Facebook page. If you help me out I'd help promote your social media and/or blog in exchange. Thanks in advance!

Blog Makeover Survey/Giveaway!

Hey ya'll! So at the end of my post yesterday I added on a quick survey to help with my blog makeover. I'm writing up this quick post with that same survey to try and get more responses.

I have loved all the responses so far, you guys are the greatest, but I really would like more feedback to help me out and help the future of this blog. I love this blog and I love all of you and I want this to be a place where we're both happy and can enjoy what's on here, so I need your responses to help me out.

If you are having any problems filling out the survey please let me know so I can try to fix any issues. You do need to have a Google account to access the survey at the bottom of this page.

Otherwise, share this with your friends and family so I can get as much feedback as possible. In fact, anyone who shares this survey on Twitter will be entered into a giveaway for a $25 gift card to the store of their choosing!! Just copy and paste the following Tweet into your Twitter feed and you'll be entered:

Hey friends! Please check out #TheDancingCowBlog's survey and enter to win a $25 gift card!! @cowgirl_kaylee, http://goo.gl/jvAS9U 

You will only be entered if you share the Tweet and fill out the survey before next Friday. So get going and you could win! Thanks friends!

THIS SURVEY IS NOW CLOSED. THANK YOU FOR YOUR PARTICIPATION!

A Quick Message of Love

So internet friends, this is hard for me to say... but I've been struggling a lot lately. As the majority of you know, I do suffer from depression and lately it's really been hitting me hard. Chris has been a huge help, like he always is, but some days it's just so difficult to think positively and believe I can get through it all.

But I wanted to say something to all my readers, family, friends, and random people of the world who happen upon my blog...

YOU ARE LOVED.

Life sucks. And it will always suck. But even though I may not know you, I KNOW that there is someone out there who loves you and supports you and will never EVER give up on you. 

I've always had a great support system with my family, but it took me a while to realize that they could help. You may feel alone sometimes as you're going through life, but you never really are. Someone out there loves you. God loves you. Family loves you. Coworkers love you. Roommates love you. Neighbors love you. Even strangers love you sometimes when you show them kindness! 

Never give up on yourself because you are loved. If you don't believe me, remember that I love you and I'll always be here for you if you want someone to talk to. I've been there, I've been through hell and back, and if you feel like you're stuck in your pit and can't make it out please find one of those people who loves you, me included, and tell them and they can help you ease your burden. 

I'll always be here for my readers, because you give me life. Writing saves me and the people who read my writing bless me more than they'll ever know. You have always been a part of my support group, and I will always, ALWAYS, be a part of yours.

 Don't give up. You are loved. 

Happy Tuesday 6/16/2015

Devin coming home!!! 

Knowing the last Farnes brother gets home in two weeks!!! 

The thought of seeing Chris with all his brothers for the first time since I met him!!! 

Jimmy Johns for Tweeting me back

New Facebook followers! (Welcome and thank you!!)

Demi Lovato

This Demi song, this Demi song, and this Demi song

That last song especially though

Like seriously, if you haven't already, click on the link and listen

That song saves me

Warm weather

Summertime

My lunchtime nature walks

Chris for saving me from a wasp in our bedroom

Pizza

Doing better at work

Starting up #FashionFriday posts again

My mom for listening and loving and being all around amazing

__________________________________________________________________________

Hey friends, so as you know my Happy Tuesday posts are always just like the above list. No explanations, just the simple things in life that have made me happy the past week. But I just want you all to be aware that I am currently struggling. If you've ready any past posts on my blog you've probably learned by now that I suffer from depression... and it's been bad lately. We're working on it and this week has already been so much better than last week, but I wanted to tell you that making these Happy Tuesday posts has been helping me a lot. Simply taking time to think about the little things making me happy has changed everything. Finding gratitude for the little things and being a bit more positive is doing wonders for my emotional health. I didn't write a post last week and I probably should have considering how bad things got last week, but I really want to encourage my readers to participate in Happy Tuesdays with me. They are helping me and maybe they can help you too. Even if you're late (like I was today) on writing your blog post, tweet, Tumblr post, Instagram photo, or Facebook post, be sure to tag it with #HappyTuesdays so I can see it too. 

I love all my readers and I hope that your week is amazing and you remember to find the small positive things in your life that make you happy. 

Two Weeks // Blogiversary // Goals

Well, we've come to the end. Only two more weeks until Chris and I move back to Utah. While I expected this summer to really help my blog grow by giving me more time to write, the exact opposite happened, I didn't write at all. Apparently when I'm in school and should be doing homework I blog more than when I'm more free to write. That's probably not how it should work.

At this point I'll admit part of the reason my blogging was so scarce was because once I realized I wasn't writing about our Texas adventure I was embarrassed to suddenly start writing about it at the very end. In my mind since I didn't document the beginning of the summer, why should I start documenting the end?

I also was very disappointed in myself for not sharing any fashion posts this summer. That was probably the biggest new goal for my blog and I've been majorly failing at that. But I'll be honest with you, I've worn most the same things all summer and haven't bought anything new. Also, I know I'm just making up excuses for myself, but with Chris working all the time I haven't had anyone to take my pictures for me.

Oh, so this month marks my two year blogiversary!! Yay! I've been doing this blog for two years which is a pretty cool accomplishment. The only problem is that I thought by two years it would have grown much more. But I'm realizing now that I still have a lot of work to do to make this blog as successful as I want it to be. I'm trying not to compare my success to others (even though it's difficult) and just figuring out what I have to do or continue to do to make this blog successful for me. (Although suggestions are always appreciated. Wink wink.)

I do not have any sort of celebration for my "blogiversary" except maybe the name change. That's pretty cool in my opinion. And I'm purchasing the domain which will make things lots of fun. I think that will change the "success" for my blog and help me to help it grow. I will always want it to keep growing.

My current goals for this blog are as follows:

• Purchase the domain name
• Start posting regularly again
• Start making YouTube videos to go along with my blog posts
• Gain a larger following on social media
• Advertise my blogging friends
• And keep writing the things that make me happy

Again, I apologize for this summer. It was not a good summer for this blog. For me, yeah, I had fun, but for this blog it was kind of a total failure. But that's fine. Everyone and everything has their ups and downs and I still feel this blog is at the beginning of its race, I haven't given up on it yet. 

Thank you to all my readers/friends. I love you all so much for all the support you give me all the time. Thank you for believing in me and returning back to my blog again and again even when I have nothing of importance to say. I truly appreciate all you do for me. You make me happy and I consider you all some of my greatest friends. 

As I said in the beginning, in two weeks I'm moving back to Utah and maybe then I'll be able to refocus myself to work harder on this blog. I've gotten a new planner, I'll be buying myself a new laptop, and I'll be setting goals and deadlines to get the things done on this blog that I want. I'm so excited for what's to come and I hope you are too. 

I Greatly Dislike College

Last week a wrote a certain blog post entitled I Hate College. And for some strange reason I received a huge response and it quickly became my most viewed blog post this month. I found it incredibly strange especially considering it was just a long, angry rant and typically those don't go over too well on my blog. But for some reason you all were very intrigued by my bold statement of saying I hate college and were very interested in helping me. So thank you.

But I cannot in good conscience just let that angry post slide by without a disclaimer. While everything I wrote in that post is true and I wouldn't take any of it back, it's important to note that directly before that post I was in class and received my paper back, a paper that I thought I had done really well on, but I got a "C+".

Despite that being a passing grade I was incredibly frustrated! The whole point of this particular semester was to bring up my GPA by taking all the classes that I had previously failed. Which means that the two classes this semester that I am in great danger of failing, I've already failed them before!! I've already taken that class! I've already done the work! And these are English classes, a subject in which I decided I didn't want to major in anymore.

I'm sick of being in English classes and because I'm in all high level English courses, this semester is particularly difficult and frustrating for me. I have no desire to be in these classes and with each bad grade on a quiz or essay I lose any desire to even pass anymore. This semester is incredibly difficult and it's draining me in a way that no semester ever has, not just because of the difficulty level but because I just don't care anymore.

While I do stand by my post last week, I feel it's important for my readers to know why I wrote all those anger-filled words at that particular moment. And I feel the title of this post more accurately portrays my real feelings towards college. Hate is too strong a word.

I don't know what my next step is. I don't know what the result of last week's post is yet. Right now I'm just focusing on getting through the rest of the semester and then taking the summer off in Texas to think through all my options. I've talked with my husband and I think I have a good idea about where I want to go from here, but I need to pray about it more and I feel like I need to be out of school (not continually pestered by this awful semester) to make the right decision.

Again, thank you to everyone who left comments on last week's post or texted or emailed me. All your comments and suggestions were incredibly helpful and I am so grateful to have this wonderful blogging community to help me when I'm down. You mean everything to me and I am so happy to have you around.

THANK YOU!!! 

Unhappiness // I NEED YOUR HELP!!

If I'm being completely honest with myself, I am unhappy with this blog. Despite my love of writing, it isn't turning out the way I had originally visioned. And after working hard on this blog for a year and a half, isn't it about time I make it how I want it to be? 

So starting in March there will be some major changes happening on this blog. It'll be going a whole different direction. I'm reorganizing and rearranging everything, posts will be different, the style of my blog will be different, and much more! 

Because of all of this, I'm asking for your help! Please leave a comment below with any suggestion for my blog! These can be about anything! Tell me what you like, what you don't like, what you'd like to see different, what you think I should add, etc. I want this to be a blog that can be enjoyed by everyone, so please leave your input to help make it better! 

THANK YOU SO MUCH!! 

My 2014 New Years Resolutions

2013 is almost over and I can honestly say this was one of the craziest years of my life. I started out the year with multiple jobs that I loved, engaged, making lots of money, enjoying life, living with my parents, etc. Then in May I got married to my best friend and the love of my life (Best day ever!) We enjoyed a fabulous, but eventful, honeymoon to Disneyland (and Ogden). We moved to Logan so we could finish college at Utah State (go aggies!!). I had a medical procedure done that I still haven't written about on this blog, but it was a big deal for me. I spent all summer looking for a job and finding myself very unsuccessful. I became horribly depressed (not my new husband's fault, I SWEAR!!!). I realized I had no friends in Logan and felt very much alone and focused the majority of my time on this blog. When school started I got my old job back as a janitor and had mixed feelings about it, but now it's going great. I worked really hard in school but felt extremely stressed most of the time. We ran out of money and couldn't get our bank account back in order and had to ask for help. We had to move to save money on housing. We were struggling for months until our financial aid paid us some money. And now here we are. 2014.

I can already tell 2014 is going to be a great year! It will be my first full year as a married woman and (hopefully) we won't be moving again so we'll be in the same place for the full year. Things already feel like they are looking up! I'm excited for what the year has to bring and I am so excited for 2014!

Before I get into my 2014 New Years Resolutions, let's take a look at my 2013 Resolutions and see how well I did (because I deserve a little shaming). Keep in mind that I haphazardly threw together my New Year's Resolutions last year and didn't do much thinking about them, although that's no excuse for my massive failures... Anyways, let's get into it.

My 2013 New Years Resolutions:

1. To limit my income of sugar and salt. (FAIL. I did really well at the beginning of the year because I had to fit into my wedding dress. But after that I massively failed and gained weight... a lot of weight.)

2. To learn to love cooking. (FAIL. I don't cook. I never cook. I've made some crockpot recipes but is that really cooking? I made cookies! But I did not in any way learn to love cooking.)

3. To become more flexible. (FAIL. I didn't just fail, I greatly failed, because not only did I get more flexible, I lost the flexibility I already had! I'm not flexible at all anymore! And I'm very very ashamed of it.)

4. To become a better friend. (Fail? I don't have any friends... so did I fail? All these failures are getting so pathetic!!)

5. To work harder for my education. (WIN! I count this as a win. There is always room for improvement, but I'm definitely working harder than I have in previous years. I've done really well this past semester and hope to do even better in future semesters.)

6. To learn ways to spend less money. (WIN! Yay! Winning streak! Last month I wrote a whole post about all the things I've learned to spend money, sort of, I'm planning another, better one in the future, but for now I'd say this is a win.)

7. To (finally) get a six pack. (FAIL. Pathetic again. As I said previously, I just gained weight, so this is a definite fail. (And for those of you who are confused, I meant six-pack abs, not beer.))

8. To be more organized and clean. (FAIL. I don't consider this a massive fail, but it's still a fail. But it's something I hope to continue to work on.)

9. To blog more. (WIN! This is a definite win. I've blogged so much more this year than last year, not only that, I've gotten a much bigger response than last year. So many page views and followers! It's been a fantastic year for this blog!)

10. To love Chris more each and every day. (WIN! This is a lifelong goal that can always be worked on, but I feel it's still a win this year.)


So as you can see, I didn't do very well this year. 4 out of 10 aren't the best odds, but we can still work on these right? After looking over these goals again and thinking about what's going on recently in my life, here are now my New Years Resolutions for 2014.

1. To gain 100 blog followers. (This can be through Facebook, Twitter, Blog Lovin', etc. So share this page with your friends to help me reach this goal! As a special incentive, soon I'll be doing a giveaway exclusively for my Facebook followers!)

2. To run a 5k. (This may not sound like a big deal, but I've never been a runner in my life, so it's a big deal for me.)

3. To get six-pack abs. (Yes, I'm bringing this one back. It's something I've wanted for a long time and I'm going to continue working towards it.)

4. To improve my math skills. (I'm being forced to take more math classes as a part of my new major, but this time around I'm going to have a better attitude about it and work harder to get better grades.)

5. To make school more of a priority. (Don't tell my mom, but sometimes I skip class. It's just hard for me to wake up early sometimes! But this year things will be different, I'm going to work harder in school and really earn my grades by working hard.)

6. To eat healthier. (Because popcorn for dinner tastes good, but I really should stop doing it. Also, how else will I get my six-pack abs?)

7. To save up more money. (We've had a lot of issues with our bank account lately but things are starting to look up. We want to make sure that our bank account never goes through that again and want to save up as much money as we can to keep us financially safe.)

8. To not procrastinate. (I am the worst at this, but I'm going to get better this year.)

9. To read more. (I started my Book Club but haven't even been reading the books! This year I'm going to prioritize my time and make sure I read the books I pick so I can't keep up with my followers.)

10: To pray and read my scriptures everyday. (I have been majorly slacking on this and I'm very disappointed in myself because being LDS has blessed my life in so many ways and my Father in Heaven deserves to hear my prayers and all the things I'm grateful for in my life.)

These are my goals of the year. Feel free to chastise me if I you ever hear about me slacking off. I'd love to hear about your goals as well! Leave a comment below to let me know!

I WISH YOU ALL A VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! THANKS FOR READING! 

12 Days of Service

Welcome to December! Doesn't December just feel like the most magical month? It always does for me. Instead of a specific charity for Charity of the Month my goal this month is to complete 12 random acts of service. I don't have the money to give to a charity right now, but I have an able body that is able to do things for other people.

This month I want to challenge you to complete 12 acts of service as well. We'll call it the 12 Days of Service. Please Tweet about it with #12daysofservice so we can see everything that people do to help others this month or leave a comment on this post. You can also talk about service that others have given to you!

Examples of Service:

• Clean up a neighbor's yard
• Clean your parents/kids bedroom
• Make goodies to give to neighbors
• Write someone a thank you note
• Write a letter to a friend or relative
• Make a meal for someone
• Shovel snow/rake leave/mow the lawn for your neighbors
• Offer to babysit
• Give away old clothes or toys to someone in need
• Run errands for someone unable to do it themselves
• Drive someone to their destination
• Send stuffed animals to the hospital
• Make homemade greetings cards for others in the community
• Visit a retirement home and hang out with the elderly
• Pick up garbage you find on the ground
• Write letters to soldiers
• Organize a bake sale to raise money for a cause
• Help at a soup kitchen
• Volunteer your time with others
• Help neighbors repair their homes
• Reddit Gifts Secret Santa 
• Toys for Tots

Got any other great service ideas? Leave a comment below and tell your story! 

November Review

Okay! This November was full of stress! So much stress! But it was a good month, I suppose. :) Things are looking up now so hopefully this December will be better. But I always love November because it's my birthday month and Thanksgiving was fantastic. To read all about my November, keep reading! To see my other Monthly Review posts CLICK HERE. 

First I have to add something from the very end of October. Halloween night after work one of my coworkers hid in a garbage can and scared me. We then pushed him around in the garbage can, scaring other people as well. It was so funny when he scared this random girl walking down the hall, she screamed so loudly! Later, after I had left, they scared one of the nightshift girls and recorded it. I watched it on Facebook and it was so funny and sad! She fell on the floor, screamed, it was crazy! I wish I could share the video on here, but I can't, it's not mine. So I'll just share this random trashcan scare video:

...Luckily that didn't happen at my work. :)


This month went by in the biggest blur of my life. I had so much school work today I honestly don't remember doing anything but homework. But I'm going to try and do this post as accurately as I can.

November 4th was my birthday and one of the best birthdays of my life. You can read all about it by CLICKING HERE. It was so wonderful and I'm so grateful for my family and my husband for doing so much for me that weekend. I had the best time!

I started up Month of Gratitude on my blog again, this time using my Twitter account to write my daily gratitude. My goal was to write a post at the end of each week with all my Twitter posts of the week, but I was only able to do it that first week. I can't decide if I'll write a blog post with all the other Twitter posts, but leave a comment if you'd like me to.

My husband and I celebrated 6 months of marriage!!! Half a year! That's more than some celebrities. Our marriage only gets stronger every day and more than that I just keep loving him more every day. I love Chris so much and I think I could never love him more the next day, but it always happens. It just keeps getting better every day.

We ran out of money at an extreme level and had to make some major changes. I wrote this post and it became my most popular post this month. I'm glad people enjoy the tips that I put in it. Next year I have another post planned with a similar feel to it on how to save up your money and make extra cash, but it won't be written for a while, so stay tuned. THANKS FOR MAKING THIS SUCH A POPULAR POST!!

On November 13th by brother-in-law Sheldon came home from his mission. Since then he's spent a night with us in Logan, we spent a weekend down there with him and I've gotten to know him really well! He's so much fun and it's great to have another brother around!

On November 15th I developed a fear of boxes due to a traumatic experience at work. I don't think I'm as scared as I was near when it happened but it still was a crazy experience. I didn't like it. But it was nothing compared to the experience my favorite blogger had around the same time.

This month I got over 30,000 page views and I can't explain how much it means to me to see that number! I just feel so continually blessed by my blog readers! You guys mean so much to me and I love that you support me in what I'm doing. THANK YOU!!!

I announced this month that my husband and I were moving. It's a big change for us and the place we eventually found isn't nearly as pretty as where we are now, but it will save us money and it will be good for us. Here's the story though, we were hoping to get into the University Family Housing because it would be the best deal (about the same rent price but utilities, cable, and internet was all included, and it was closer to campus so we could save on gas money). We paid the $150 application fee and filled out the form and were excited to move in. There had been constant ads in the paper so we knew they had openings, but we were wrong. Apparently the ad is just constantly in there and they didn't have anything open.

At the same time our current manager told us that our apartment had been rented out and we had to move out the 20th of December. So we thought we might be homeless. I cannot begin to describe how stressed I was at the time because of this (and a ton of tests, presentations, and essays due in school at the same time). My wonderful husband quickly realized how stressed I was and told me to focus on school and he'd find us an apartment. In one day he visited about five different places and texted me and said "I found our new home!" I'll be honest, it wouldn't be my first choice, I'd much rather stay where we are, but we just can't afford it. We can afford this new place and I figure we're only going to be there till we're done with school in about three years, I can handle that.

So in a few weeks we can start moving into our new place. It'll be a crazy time for us but I'll be happy when we get all settled in and can finally start decorating for Christmas. We have so many friends willing to help us and both our parents have trailers and want to come help. We are truly blessed! But the place is unfurnished, so if anyone has a couch they'd like to give us, that would be fabulous. :)

 On November 26th I donated plasma for two reasons. 1. I love helping people and 2. I am desperate for money. But the experience that happened did not go as planned and I went through such a stressful traumatic experience.

My Thanksgiving this year was fantastic! It was the first Thanksgiving I wasn't with my family, so that was weird, but my in-laws are great too. We had a traditional dinner around 1:00 on Thanksgiving day, everything was very delicious and I loved it all! Afterwards I played ping-pong with one of Chris's cousins and we were jumping around, claiming that it helped us do better. :) Then we watched The Hunger Games so Sheldon could see it because we were going to see Catching Fire that night. I then got to experience Walmart Black Friday... on Thursday... and it was crazy!! I wish I had brought my camera in there to show you all the crazies I saw. We got a ton of movies for way cheap and my in-laws bought them for Chris and I for Christmas. Yay! Then we saw Catching Fire...

I cannot fully describe how much I am in love with this movie!!! When I got out of the theater I was jumping around so happy and wanting more. Yes the movie made me cry multiple times but it was made so brilliantly that I just loved every second of it. I highly recommend seeing this movie if you haven't already! So so good!!!

On actual Black Friday I went shopping with my mother-in-law and she got me a very cute infinity scarf. She's fantastic! Then we got burgers and Chris and I drove back home so he could get to work.

After all that it was the end of November and nothing substantially exciting happened. I went in to donate plasma again but they denied me because I don't have a proof of address, how rude. But they sent me a card so I can get my proof of address and a $10 when I bring it in next week.

I hope all my readers had a fantastic November! I hope your Thanksgiving was amazing! I love all my readers and am so grateful for each and everyone of you! 

THANKS FOR READING!! 

Web Video Wednesday: Turkey

Tomorrow is Turkey Day!! So please enjoy these videos of turkeys. I hope everyone has a fantastic Thanksgiving! I am so grateful for all the many blessings in my life but I especially am grateful for this blog and my wonderful readers, you mean so much to me! 

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!! 

Big News!! // Major Thank Yous!!

I've gone over 30,000 page views and I am so so so so so so grateful to all my readers!! You guys are some of my most favorite people in the world and you all mean so much to me! Thank you for all you do for me! I LOVE YOU ALL!!  

Alright, so back to business. Last week I posted this picture:

And I knew that putting up something like this would make people think I was pregnant. Which I am not. Other people guessed we got a new job, we were graduating earlier (I wish!) but no one guessed the real news... WE'RE MOVING. It's not a big move, we're staying in Logan to finish school and complete the Cache Valley Checklist. We just needed someplace cheaper.

Last week I completely hinted to my readers that I was moving in my Confessions of a Penny-Pincher post on Tip #11. Nobody caught that hint though. The fact is that while we are making enough money to pay for our apartment and utilities and such, we have nothing left afterwards. We can barely buy food sometimes. So we're moving to save money.

It was the dream apartment. I had wanted to live here so badly and I love it so much! But we woke up from that dream and faced reality, and reality just stinks sometimes. I'm also really disappointed in myself because I kept meaning to do an apartment tour post, but it never happened. I have mixed feelings about moving because I just love this apartment so much, but where we're going we'll be closer to campus and work and it will cost less. It's just a better situation for us.

So be prepared to posts about moving tips and tricks; I didn't find any good ones on Pinterest yet so I'll be working on that. ;) Because it's near the end of the semester and we have tons of final assignments to do as well as prepare for a move, I probably will not be posting very much. Sorry! Also, I will not be decorating for Thanksgiving because of the move and I won't be decorating for Christmas until later in December, so my holiday decorating under $10 won't be written for Thanksgiving and will be late for Christmas. Sorry!

This will be a big change for Chris and I. We were kind of spoiled in this apartment and now we're moving somewhere not as great, but we're only staying till we're graduated, and then we're planning on leaving Logan. So it's just a temporary home for us. We're still excited to make the change though, it will allow us to reorganize and redecorate things. It'll be a really good thing for us.

Thank you all again for the 30,000 page views!! Thank you for your comments about the big news, it was fun to hear what you had to say. THANKS FOR READING!! 

Further Confessions of a Penny Pincher: A Note On Yesterday's Post

Yesterday I posted THIS POST about the "Confessions of a Penny-Pincher" with tips to saving money. And as I looked over it as it stood proudly on my blog, I realized it really is a list of confessions, of the things that I wish I did more. Sure I use FAFSA and visit the Dollar Store for most my items but I also love fast food! I eat it way more than I'd like to admit. Saturday night I ate McDonald's French fries after I had already eaten a full meal!

I don't coupon, my credit card is maxed out, we never make grocery lists, we're always driving, and we are overall just wasteful with our money. And this needs to change! We are so poor. So very very poor. In fact, I can't afford to buy new body lotion so I have to keep using the stuff that makes me itchy (don't worry, it's not that bad).

Basically this follow up post is to warn my readers again that I am no expert in money and my tips from yesterday were just things that have been working for us. I wish we had more money and were able to handle our money better but we're newlyweds and we're still getting used to our combined incomes and sharing a bank account. We're still learning and I hope to share all the things we learn with my incredible readers.

I want to thank all my readers for your constant support! I recently had a reader email me about a job I could apply for and I've never been more grateful in my life! You all are incredible and I feel so blessed to receive all your great comments and good thoughts. I LOVE ALL MY BLOG FRIENDS!!

Thank You

So I don't have anything exciting to write today. I have a lot of homework I need to focus on and I have quite a bit of reading to get done (for school and for my Book Club) so this post is going to be short and basically about nothing. You can stop reading now if you'd like.

On September 7th I celebrated reaching 20,000 page views and I was so happy. Unbelievably happy!! It felt like such an amazing accomplishment for me and I was so proud of myself, and I was so happy that people, like you, enjoyed reading my blog!!

Now, only nineteen days later:

I cannot thank my readers enough for all the love and support that you continually bring me!! I love writing on this blog and I'm so glad that you enjoy it too!! 

Don't forget to continually leave comments and emails with suggestions, questions, comments, stories, poetry, song lyrics, your own life story... I don't care, I just love to hear from my readers!!

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!! 

As a side note, I'm officially thanking you with a Giveaway, I'm writing about it tomorrow, but if you've been reading this post and click on the link now, you can find the giveaway is already open for entries today! Don't forget to enter!! :) 

A Very Happy Tuesday!!!

I already posted my Happy Tuesday post for the day, but I have another. SERIOUSLY YOU GUYS? 1005 PAGEVIEWS IN THREE DAYS??? I LOVE YOU GUYS!!! 

If you haven't seen it already, check out the post that has gotten me over a thousand pageviews in three days: The Cache Valley Checklist. I can't even begin to describe how happy it makes me that people like this post! I wrote it because I saw a raspberry vendor after driving through the canyon and entering into Cache Valley and I thought, "Hey, that's something I want to do while here in Logan" (and ironically, that's the one thing I left off the list). I feel so very blessed to have written something that people like and agree with! I am so happy! This is a Happy Tuesday indeed. :)

Why I Want to Change My Major: A Look at Elementary VS. Secondary Education

So for any regular readers, you may be aware of the fact that I am an English teaching major. I've written before that one of my main goals in life is to teach high school English and coach a high school dance team.

... That however, has all changed.

This semester I am enrolled in ELED 1010: Introduction to Elementary Education and I am working towards raising my GPA so I can get into the Elementary Education program. Why would I do that? This is my fourth year of college, most my friends have already graduated, I'm all set in my current major, why would I change? Well this post is to tell you why.


This semester in my ENGL 4500: Teaching Writing class, on the first day we kind of introduced ourselves and explained to the class why we write. I talked about how my love-affair of writing that I had since first grade died off because of the comments I received on my essays in college and how I got myself out of the writing funk by starting this blog. I write to make me happy.

A boy in my class began to speak saying that he like writing because it makes him feel intellectual and that he wants to teach in high school to show off his superiority and be able to show how smart he is.

I was shocked that he had said that. It's the purpose of teaching to help the student? That's what I always thought, that what I always wanted from teaching.

A girl stood to begin her speech, she also said things along the lines of wanting to teach to model good writing and reading skills. More and more said things similar. In another one of my English classes, the students are eager to speak up and show off what they know.  I began to realize the general idea of my peers in this major, is to show off, to express their intellect to willing (or unwilling) students.

I began to really think about this. It had never occurred to me to think this way, in fact, I thought the exact opposite. The moment I decided to be a teacher it was because I wanted to help the students. I struggled through high school and my goal as a teacher would be to help those students make it through, the same way my high school English teachers helped me.

For some time I've been upset in my major. I have had no desire to go to my classes, I hated every essay I wrote and didn't even bother putting my best effort into it, I assumed all my teacher would fail me no matter what because I felt like a complete English failure. I didn't know what I was doing, and I hated my classes. So I left college for a year to re-evaluate what I was doing and to take a break to rejuvenate myself.

While on my break I kept getting feelings I needed to change to elementary education. I assumed that this was because I was working in a daycare and being surrounded by the little kids made me always want to be surrounded by little kids. I didn't think much of it until I left my job, but still kept having those feelings.

Anyone who read my blog this summer knows that I was super excited to finally be going back to school. This time I wanted it and I had a drive to do well. After a summer of mostly lows, going back to school resulted in chaos. The school dropped all my class twice. They tried to say I wasn't an enrolled student and that I would have to reapply to the school. They kept charging me extra money until I got into my waitlisted classes... I was beat, I was angry and upset at the school.

My only ray of sunshine school-wise, were my two favorite classes, ELED 1010 and FCHD 1500, both were introductory classes to the elementary education major. I had decided to take them, the week before school started, because of the feelings I had kept getting. I figured taking the introductory courses may help me decide what I really want to do with my life.

After only two weeks of this semester, I know without any doubt that I want to be an elementary school teacher. I absolutely love my classes! And my two English classes this semester I have to drag myself into going! I'm not happy in the English major and I realize now that I never really was.

I haven't officially changed my major. I can't until I raise my GPA by retaking the classes I failed. This is my fourth year of college and I have so much more I'll have to do by switching my major, but I am happy to do so. Just thinking about the change makes me happy, regardless of the ridiculous amount of work I will have to put into this change.

Everything feels right again. I'm enjoying school and I feel like I'm doing the right things with my life, even if it means I won't graduate for a few more years. I'm happy with this decision and I am so grateful for my loving husband and family who all support me in this decision. I love you all so much!

I love all my readers, as I wrote in my class, you truly are the reason I write and you've restored my love of writing. Thank you for reading my blog and thank you for all your support!