my home for the holidays

To start off with MERRY CHRISTMAS YOU FILTHY ANIMALS!!!

I love love love this holiday and I am so so happy to be home celebrating, but it was quite the trek to make it back here thanks to a snow storm that came into Utah the day that everyone was trying to fly home for the holidays.

Luckily my friend driving me to the airport was clever enough to check the weather and see that it was going to be a little rough getting there. So my day started with getting up at 6:30 (actually the earliest I had woken up all semester...) and heading out at 7:00. Everything seemed like it was going great since I made it to the airport and made it on the plane and the plane was even almost empty so I had a whole row to myself! 

And then they kicked us off the plane and said the airport was shutting down....so I had to go sit around and wait for a couple hours. But, I mostly just hung out and watched Netflix so I mean I guess I survived. Eventually they let me back on the plane. YAY! and I still had a whole row to myself. more YAY! And then they told me that it was going to be another few hours before we actually took off. No more yay.

I had to take selfies of my disappointment to pass the time...

because my window looked like this and I couldn't even see outside.

But, eventually it cleared off and they started de-icing the plane. I really thought that this was going to be a quick process and I was kind of excited to see how it worked, and then I realized that this was going to take two hours and I decided to just sleep. Thank goodness I am a champ at sleeping on airplanes. I should probably put it under skills on my resume. 

And even though I got home six hours after I was supposed to and least I made it home. And since we got so delayed I got to land at night, which is one of my absolute favorite things. I'm obsessed with the lyrics in Lorde's song Tennis Court "Pretty soon I'll be getting on my first plane/ I'll see the veins of my city like they do in space." Because seriously this view mesmerizes me. 

But really it's all worth it now because I have spent the last several days just hanging out with the family, decorating the tree, and eating sweets more than I have been eating real food (woops). 

Plus now I get to hang out with this cute face all day.

I'm bummed that my sister Rochelle won't be here for the holidays as she and her hub and kiddo just moved to Germany, but I'm glad that I am home and happy and ready to celebrate with my fam. Christmas is so great. 

Merry Christmas darlings!!

peace. love. and home for the holidays

my holiday away

I can't believe that for a second I thought about not going home for Thanksgiving! (I know, I know. But I'm starting to feel weird about graduating and leaving Provo, so it makes me think about making weird decisions sometimes.)

If you ever thought that vacation was for sitting around and relaxing, you have not vacationed with my family. My sense of adventure had to of come from somewhere right? But, it was so fun to be able to spend my Thanksgiving holiday with all of the people that I am the most grateful for. And, I guess all the pie was pretty great too...

For one of our adventures, we thought that the kiddies might enjoy checking out all the fish at the Georgia Aquarium. It was such a treat to see my little guppies getting so excited about the fishes.

Danny and Dani. Can't believe Rochelle is moving to Germany and of course taking this little guy with her. But hey, he'll probably look even cuter in lederhosen. 

Those babies!!! I'm not gunna lie, I don't always get the most excited about other peoples babies, but I just swoon when I see these cute nephews of mine. I can't even imagine how obsessed I'm going to be with my own kids one day. 

On my last day of my visit back east, I got to celebrate one whole year of being an auntie with this guy as he turned the big one year.

The great importance of birthdays must be taught at a young age!! Happy birthday sweet baby James. So proud to be your Auntie Dani and can't wait to celebrate more birthdays with ya kid.

Even my cute puppy got in on the celebrating. I was actually so worried he wasn't going to remember me since Eddie was such a little puppy when I left to go back to Utah. We joked that he probably thought I was dead and would think I was a ghost. But ghost or not, he was still thrilled to have me back so that we could catch up on our snuggles. 

Although Provo has been my home for almost four years now, it always feels great to go back to Atlanta and see my family. Hope you had a perfect Thanksgiving too, and I hope you also took advantage of the opportunity to eat pie for breakfast everyday like I did (it's good for you, trust me). 

peace. love. and pie. 

my spring summer transition

Well...I'm back in Georgia. It is definitely bitter sweet. I had a few moments of wait, why am I leaving?? when I was packing up my apartment, but I think that once the whole family gets together and I start getting my summer plans figured out, I will be a little more reassured of my decision to come home (hopefully). But, at least I had a perfect week to send me off for the next couple months. So a couple of the things that made it so great...

I am so glad that I was in Provo to send off my cute friend Rachel Farnsworth on her mission to Kiev, Ukraine. I still remember meeting her freshman year outside of the Canon Center. Rachel was one of the very first friends that I made when I came out to BYU. I am so grateful for her friendship, but so bummed that I won't get to see her perfect face for a year and a half. She is going to be an incredible missionary, and I am proud of her for her willingness to go on a mission and dedicate a year and a half to serving the Lord. I have so many friends on missions right now. I miss all of them a ton, but I know that they are doing great things. I have incredible friends.

Another exciting thing? I dyed my hair!

Not all of it, just the last few inches, but I absolutely love it. My sweet hair stylist roommate helped me out by bleaching the ends of my hair and then dying them a dark red. (It looks a little more purple in real life than in the pic, but it gives ya a good idea.) I told my roommate that I wanted my hair to have a fox tail look when I put it up in a pony, and she did a perfect job. (If you've read my blog before you know foxes are my favorite.) I figure this is perfect. I get to have a little fun with my hair (which I think more people should do), but when I get sick of it I can just chop off all the dyed parts. But, I don't think I am going to get sick of this anytime soon. I keep forgetting that the ends are dyed and randomly I look down, remember, and get a little bit happier. Haha. 

Well, at first I was nervous about spring semester, and now I can't believe I had never stayed for spring before. Thanks to everyone who made spring so lovely. Stay classy Provo. DON'T FORGET ABOUT ME WHILE I'M GONE!

peace. love. and summer at home. 

my Atlanta weekend

Goodbye Winter semester, we are done. Thank goodness. But, of course I am starting Spring classes on Tuesday so the mental break has been short. So that I could properly enjoy my break, I have spent the weekend at home in GA. Unfortunately it's rained quite a bit of the time, but jokes on you Atlanta, I love your rainstorms.

Even though my trip home has been very short I have been able to fit in some of my favorite things about coming back south.

First of all, I came home to a letter from the little boy at Rising Star that I sponsor. His name is M. Vishva. I call him Little M. He calls me Dani the Dragon. He is one of the coolest, funniest kids around, and I am honored to be a part of moving his education forward. I was beaming when I read this letter. (look into sponsoring a Rising Star or getting involved in other ways at www.risingstaroutreach.org)

Of course, I spent my afternoons hanging out with mom, going shopping, and getting lunch at some of my favorite places. We made sure that Diane and Rochelle felt involved by sending them updates in our family group text.

You would think that after my Shakespeare class where I read and watched seven plays in three months, did some pretty ridiculous assignments, and wrote a research paper, that I would be so over Shakespeare. Nope, didn't stop me from making sure that Dad, Mom, and I went to the Atlanta Shakespeare Tavern. I've been going here since I was eight, and I'm sure that my early love for Shakespeare has at least a little bit to do with why I am an English major today.

 

It was so great to be home this weekend, but I am also so excited for Spring semester. A little nervous, not gunna lie. There is a small part of me that is terrified that I will be the one person who stays in Utah for the summer, and hates it, and makes no friends, but that is just me being overly self-conscious and a little crazy (how unusual of me...) So, if you will be in Utah this Spring, hit me up, I'm ready for adventures. 

peace. love. and breaks.

my Christmas at home

Spending Christmas at home and currently cozyed up next to the Christmas tree. Bliss. eh?
Christmas is of course one of my favorite times of year (how could it not be?)

Last night we took in some Christmas cheer by going to see a light display at one of my favorite places The Atlanta Botanical Gardens. I love the contrast of these beautiful gardens with the city in the background, and the lights only make it better.

This place was even included in a Forbes "10
Dazzling Holiday Light Displays from Around the World" article. http://www.forbes.com/pictures/emej45lhhg/atlanta-botanical-garden/

 


It's been fun to be spending some time with the family and enjoying traditions like lights, trees, decorating, and baking, but what is most important this season is Christ. This is one of my favorite Christmas stories that I feel captures the spirit of the season...

No Room at the Inn

The story, now a legend, is told how Wallace Purling added a new touch to the Christmas play in a small town in the Midwest. Wallace was a little slow in the learning department. He was nine at the time and should have been in the fourth grade but was still in the second. In spite of his mental slowness, he was liked by the other kids in his class even though he was quite a bit taller and bigger than they.

According to the legend, Wallace fancied being a shepherd with a flute in the Christmas pageant that year, but the director, Miss Lumbard, thought he might better fit the role of the innkeeper. After all, he wouldn't have too many lines to remember and, because of his size, he would be able to present a more forceful refusal to the much smaller Joseph.

So the big night came. Behind stage, Wallace was so totally engrossed in the play that Miss Lombard had to make sure he didn't wander onstage before his cue.

Then came Wallace's part.

Looking exhausted from the long journey, Joseph and Mary slowly approached the entrance to the inn. Joseph knocked. The door opened immediately, and with Wallace putting on his gruffest voice declared, "What do you want?"

"We seek lodging," Joseph replied.

"Seek it elsewhere," Wallace barked. "This inn is filled."

"Sir, we have asked everywhere in vain. We have traveled far and are very weary."

"There's no room in this inn for you," Wallace stated strongly.

"Please, good innkeeper, this is my wife, Mary. She is heavy with child and needs a place to rest. Surely you must have some small corner for her. She is so tired," Joseph pleaded.

For the first time, the innkeeper began to let down his guard and relax a little. There was a long pause ... and silence. Now the audience was beginning to feel tense.

"No! Begone!" whispered the prompter from the wings.

"No!" Wallace repeated automatically. "Begone!"

Joseph looked at Mary, put his arm around her, and with heads bowed in sadness, they slowly walked away.

But the innkeeper didn't close the door and go inside. He stood there with mouth open watching the forlorn couple leaving his inn. He was genuinely upset. His eyes unmistakably filled with tears.

Then totally unexpected, Wallace departed from his memorized script Don't go, Joseph," Wallace called out. "Bring Mary back."

And then with a broad grin lighting up his whole face he spoke out loudly and clearly, "You can have my room."

Some in the audience felt Wallace had ruined the pageant. Others, however, felt it was the best Christmas pageant they had ever seen.

 What a perfect time to be spending with the people that I love and like the most...

Merry Christmas ya'll. Hope your holiday has been as lovely as mine.

peace. love. and Christmas.

my Indian ending

I don’t know if you have gathered from my blog posts this summer, but India was perfect. I truly mean that. It was perfect. Every minute. It has taken me a while to gather my thoughts about my summer and that is why my blog post is so late this week, but leaving was really tough for me. I’m still trying to recover and adjust to life here. I’ve been trying my best to focus on being happy that I went and not sad that I left, but it’s been a struggle and me sitting around watching videos and reading notes that the kids gave me over and over again probably isn’t helping. I knew when I decided to go to India that leaving after three months would be difficult, but I don’t think I realized it would be the hardest thing I had ever done. But, that doesn’t mean that for a minute I have regretted the most wonderful three months I have ever spent.

It’s beautiful how things seem to fall into my life at the perfect time. I learned and grew more in India that I think I could anywhere else. All the people that I met, all the trials that I went through, all the kids that I love so dearly were exactly what I had been wanting, craving, and desperately needing in my life.

At the last dinner of each volunteer session, we ask the volunteers to stand up and tell something that they learned in India or that they want to take home. The long term volunteers always sat out on these nights and listened, so I guess I never really got to share, so here is mine.

Other than a little lice (that I promise is gone now), I’m bringing home a whole lot of love. I think I had forgotten what it meant to love. To love every physical, spiritual, mental inch of someone. To care about someone so much that your emotions are intertwined. I felt it all, the happiness, sadness, fear, joy. Love is lacing your emotions with a heart foreign to your own. I have laced my heart to those of the children at Rising Star, the people of India, and my fellow volunteers, and I miss them so desperately. I ache for when I will be back with them, but more importantly celebrate the time that I have spent with them. But, I have learned too much about love in my time away to be foolish enough to leave all of it in India. Now it is time for me to bring it home. To spread love everywhere I go. Mother Theresa said, “I have found the paradox that if you love until it hurts, there will be no more hurt, only love.”

This is one of my favorite poems and I feel it rather appropriate…

i carry your heart with me

i carry your heart with me (i carry it in
my heart) i am never without it (anywhere
i go you go, my dear; and whatever is done
by only me is your doing, my darling)
                                  i fear
no fate (for you are my fate, my sweet) i want
no world (for beautiful you are my world, my true)
and it's you are whatever a moon has always meant
and whatever a sun will always sing is you

here is the deepest secret nobody knows
(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud
and the sky of the sky of a tree called life; which grows
higher than the soul can hope or mind can hide)
and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart

i carry your heart (i carry it in my heart)
-e.e. cummings

India I love you. There is no doubt about that. I’m longing for the next time I will have the kids of Rising Star in my arms, I’m waiting to hear Dani the Dragon being called out, and I’m begging to laugh with those kids again. But, in the mean time, I will be off spreading love. Everywhere I go.

Here is a compilation of some of the videos that I took of these super children this summer. This is the first video I have ever put together so…don’t judge too harshly.

Have a summer as incredible as mine next year!! Check out www.risingstaroutreach.org to look at volunteer dates or discover other ways you can help.

peace. love. and India.

my peace out provo

Being back home has thrown me completely off schedule (you know now that I don't have any sort of schedule) and also made me completely forget to blog on Sunday. Woopsies.

But, here is a little something for you to listen to while you read. Appropriately named At Home by Crystal Fighters (an awesome band despite the fact that the picture this video has chosen to display is a little odd...)

But, don't worry cause you are about to get blog blasted. Right here. Right now. Lets go. 

To start off with, some end of semester lessons...

1. Experiencing your first year in an apartment, applying for study abroad, starting your major and minor classes, and taking 17 credits is probably a little more than you can handle. Be realistic. 

2. It's ok to break the rules that were stupid to begin with. 

3. If you leave your guitar out in the living room, pretty much every boy that comes over to your apartment will pick it up and start playing for you and also think that you are like 7x cooler because you play (or try to play) too. 

4. Keep a few really close friends that you can always rely on, but get to know everyone. It's more fun that way. 

This semester, I think, was the best semester that I have had at BYU yet. I felt like I was more comfortable and confident than I was freshmen year, and I think that showed in the experiences that I allowed myself to have this time around. I'm so excited to be going to Paris, but I'm also really bummed that now that everything is perfect with my college life I have to go. And I know that as much as I hope that everything will stay the exact same as when I left, I have to be realistic. But, maybe everything will just be better when I get back. 

And to finish off with...a semester in pictures

First night back! Gretchen's Birthday Dinner. 

Waiting in line for parking. Mmmm sleeping on the sidewalk. 

Disco Skating!

Bridgette's wedding with all the girls.

football games. go cougs. 

learning how to ride a bike

spontaneous late night partying

general conference in Salt Lake City

Kailey's iPod dance party birthday party

happy halloween

Park City for fun in the snow

me and my love Kari in Park City

prepping to stay warm in the snow

the whole group ready to start the snowball fighting, snowman making, sledding, etc. 

80s dancing at Area 51. Freshmen year flashback for sure.

90s Party.

the Sunday evening crepe crew

group blind date night

Christmas gift exchange with all the girls [minus Rachel :( ]

 Of course I have a gazillion more pictures than this, which you have probably already seen on Facebook, but these are just some of my favorites (the layout of my pictures got a little goofy when I posted. darn.)

I'm glad to be home, but I'm already seriously missing Provo.
see you in August, but till then peace out Provo

(p.s. I'm still trying to sell my apartment contract so if you know anyone looking for housing by BYU send them to me!)

peace. love. and home for the holidays.

my first snow of the season

This weekend I peaced out of Provo and headed up to Park City to stay at a buddies house. It took two hours to get there because it was snowing like crazies, but it was well worth the drive. Once we got there the group of us frolicked in the snow, throwing snowballs, tackling, sledding, and all the other fun snowy things you can do. After we warmed up with some hot coco and wally ball, and finished off by snuggling up with a movie. This event is actually the reason why I am a little late on my posting. I was hoping to be able to load up some pictures once they were loaded on facebook...but as they aren't on facebook yet I have no access to them and you will instead be forced to imagine all this instead. (but once they are posted I'll share with ya).

This is what I woke up to Saturday morning :)
snow is always so beautiful till you are walking to class in it...

So for my what am I thankful for this week...a couple things

Thanksgiving break so that I can breath a little during this crazy semester at school (17 credits...what was I thinking?) 

and of course

Airplanes. So that I can warm up and see my lovely family in Georgia.

peace. love. and warmth.