Christmas

So today I caught myself, multiple times, humming
to Christmas music and you know what,
I loved it!
I used to not be the type that
was into Christmas music. I never intentionally
switched my radio
to a Christmas station and
I never sang loudly to the tunes, but now I DO!
I chalk all of this up to Grantler.
When I was at home he always put the Christmas station
on when we were in the car
and, he sang along!
I loved it.
(well except for when a song would come on
and he would tease me for not knowing it, give me a break;
I am new at this embracing Christmas music thing!)
I am really getting into the holiday spirit.
Today, I read the December Ensign and I really enjoyed the
articles that were written.
There was a section that talked about the members of the seventy's Christmas
traditions. I was impressed with several
of the men who said that Christmas can last all year
when we remember Christ and are always striving to be obedient to him.
I loved that.
Another member said that we can have Christmas every week as we partake of the sacrament.
We are able to renew our covenants every week.
Part of the sacrament prayer is that we will "always remember him."
Everyday we can celebrate Christ's
life by remembering Him and
striving to be like Him.
There was one other part of the Ensign that struck me.
It was about remembering Easter when we celebrate Christmas; if Easter had not happened there would be no Christmas. If Christ hadn't atoned for mankind, died for them, and then be resurrected, His birth would have been
just that of another child. It is because
He took upon the sins, heartaches, and shortcomings of the world
that we celebrate His birth.
I love my Savior and I am so grateful for Him. I
hope that this Christmas I can focus on Him, and His life.
I hope that I can be like Him in all that I do and that
I will always celebrate His birth, because of the gift of eternal life,
which He has made
possible for me to someday attain.

Why BYU is the School for Me!

BYU has its own creamery.
that means they make their own dairy products.
that means they have every kind of cheese imaginable for purchase.
that means Danielle is a happy, happy girl.
I live for cheese. It is sooo good!
I totally justify my excessive cheese consumption
because I don't drink milk, due to the fact that it makes
my throat phlegmy
and gives me sore throats.
i like cheese on nachos, burritos, chili, tortillas, salad, hamburgers, chips,
plain, sandwiches, with meat, fried on the stove, stick style, etc etc.
so I know that BYU is the school for me because
they help to support my
cheese habit.
thank you BYU!
ps
i just discovered something.
today my first aid teacher was saying something about Chile, the country, and how he doesn't
know the right pronunciation.
after he said that he was like i do love chili/chile, the food.
because I am from az, i automatically thought of green chile.
i am now thinking he meant chili, chili.
hhmmm
sort of funny i thought of green chile right away.
i do love that stuff though.
it tastes good with cheese too.
you may be wondering why i decided to post about cheese.
there are a few reasons.
a-i am super bored right now
b- i was in the kitchen a few minutes ago, obsessively staring at the oven waiting for my turkey breast roast to be done when i decided to
sample some of the muenster cheese i bought today.
c-eating the muenster cheese made me want to blog about it
because i have nothing else to do and because i
LOVE
it so much.

Icy

It is official.
I have started using the snow shuffle; for those who aren't sure
what the snow shuffle is i will
elaborate.
The snow shuffle is very very handy when the sidewalks are icy. My version
of the snow shuffle is that every time an
ice patch comes along i just scoot my feet across it, i don't pick them up
i just shuffle them across the icy surface.
i may look weird, and you may be able to hear me from
20 feet away, but my falling record is beautiful.
i don't even remember the last time i fell on ice; yep
I'm that good.
In the winter, in Utah, people drop like flies because of icy sidewalks.
Seriously.
I never go a day without seeing someone
slip on an ice patch.
it cares the bajeebers out of me!
SO i practice safe walking.
Thank you snow shuffle.
ps- i do remember one nasty fall i had my freshman year.
i was late for the bus so i was walking fast and i decided
to cut across the street by
walking down a small grassy snow covered hill.
I slid right down that hill.
The whole side of
one pant leg was soaked. i was late for school though so i just
hopped on the bus with wounded self esteem
and a very wet leg.
I was such a committed student back then!
If the same were to happen to me now
i would have turned on my heel and walked straight back home, grateful
for an
excuse
to not have to go to class.
How times have changed! ;)
ha!
I am still a good student, meaning i get great grades. I have
just learned the amount of effort necessary
to generate my desired grades, and
It is very efficient if i do say so myself.

Pictures

i am in love with pictures of Grant and i. Basically all i have done today is stare at the pictures that got taken of us from this last trip home. It isn't that i am obsessed with our beauty or whatever, (although we are quite lovely) but it is just that when i am looking at the pictures of us i feel like Grant is with me, i feel like we aren't so far away from each other. I can see from our pictures how much fun we have together and how happy we are when we are in each others presence. I am so grateful for photography, for the chance to preserve little moments in time. I will always turn to pictures of Grantler and i when i miss him or need a pick me up. He is my best friend and seeing us acting goofy in the middle of the sand dunes helps me to remember how i can always be myself when i am with him; it helps me to remember the joy and feeling of lightness i feel when i am enjoying his company. So, for now, i will comfort myself in our photos, i will dive into the memories that we created together, and I will be happy, like i am when i am with Grant.

Full Body Scanners

Oh ya! Guys!
I was just reading through my old posts and realized I had said I would update on the airport security scanners!
I can't let my many readers down! (ha, just let me feel important)
So to my dismay they didn't use the full body scanners a the SLC or PHX airports. What the?
I don't know why. But I was slightly disappointed.
Oh well.
I probably should be thankful.
But seriously.
I wanted to know what all the hoopla was about. I guess I will have to wait!

Break Continued

So I am back to business here at BYU. Time away from Grant feels like I am just going through the motions. It is not very exciting. It is all
snowy here now;
today I definitely practiced the ice shuffle as I walked to school.
Slipping on ice is a serious thing!! I always take precautions! ;)
So lets get back to Thanksgiving break.
So Monday I hung out with my parents while Grant
fulfilled his school and work responsibilities. It was really enjoyable. i just love my mama
and papa. It was fun to hear them banter
at the office, I love that my parents are in love with each other.
It makes me so happy.
Tuesday I went to lunch with my friend Mercedez, I got to hear
all about her trip to Utah to see her honey.
I loved seeing her and catching up. Wednesday, Grant and I made coconut basil curry and lavash, a yummy flat bread Grant would make in latvia.
It was DELICIOUS.
Oh my gosh.
One more thing I love about my Grantler; he loves to cook and loves to eat.
I am not talking about just burgers or spaghetti,
we cook weird exotic things like curry! We love it. It is so fun for us.
So after we made the whole house smell like curry we went country dancing.
It was a blast. I wish we lived by each other so
we could make country dancing a weekly event!!! Seriously.
Over the summer we are going to make it happen, wooot.
On Thursday we had Thanksgiving!!
We went to Grant's grandmas house and Aunt Stephanie did an
impromptu photo shoot with Grantler and I!
Oh my gosh.
The pictures ended up looking sooo cute. I am in love.
Thank you Aunt Steph!!
All I do now is just stare at out pictures. How can I not? Were pretty cute.
Just sayin.
Friday we went to the sand dunes! The drive was so quick, only 3 hours.
It was great. We got to ride in the sand rail multiple times and oh man there is nothing like it. You feel like you are flying across the desert. It is beautiful. I love it.
Andddd Grantler loved it!
He said it was better than any roller coaster he has ever been on! Yay!
Grantler also drove me around on our Commander. Its like this sand toy that is not a quad
or a dirt bike or a sand rail. It's like the SUV of sand toys.
Grant loved driving it and I loved looking over at my man looking adorable as
we sped through the desert scenery. His hair got all fluffy and he was all smiles. I was all smiles too :)
It was the perfect weekend at the dunes:)
My sister even took pictures for us in the middle of the dunes while we barrel rolled down a sand hill, jumped off hills, and just played in the sand. I felt like
a little kid, it was absolutely divine.
Thanks Jasey for being the best! Her and I decided to shove our faces in the sand and make face imprints. Well that didn't work; all we were left with was a face full of sand!
It made for a great picture though.
I am so thankful for my lovely family. They are so good to me.
I am also thankful for Grant's family and for the kindness they show me.
I felt so welcomed at their Thanksgiving celebration and I always feel welcome in Grant's home.
Saturday night Grant and I just ate dinner at the mongolian grill and watched a movie.
Sunday was church and the airport.
Grantler always walks me in the airport and then be stays with me till I go through security.
My flight was delayed so we sat on a couch in Starbucks and just chatted.
It was great. I love that boy.
That was my trip. It was my favorite trip I have taken to AZ.
Only 20 days and then I will be back! Hopefully that trip will be even better!

Ten Days of Bliss

HELLOO WORLD!!
I am so happy.
I just had the most blissful ten days of my life. Seriously.
I had such a good time in AZ!! Lets recap.
-Grantler picked me up from the airport as usual.
*side note- i will now use lower case i's. it takes to much time to capitalize. *
-i love when Grant picks me up from the airport. Every time I get all excited and breathy when i leave the airplane. i made sure to sit right at the very front this time so i could be one of the first ones off. i was number 3. it was great. so anyway, Grant and i left the airport and after our usual getting lost leaving the airport spiel (we never take the right turn out of the airport, ever) we were on the open road headed to Chandler. we headed to the Chandler mall and after some deliberating we decided on eating at The Cheesecake Factory. it was gooood. so much food and the ambiance of the restaurant is super. it was so nice.
-Friday we went to a play and Bing Soo with my sister. it was rather enjoyable.
-Saturday i didn't see my baby till like 6! but i did get to spend a lot of time with my family so that was really nice. i went to my little sisters softball game where she totally owned and then i got to go grocery shopping with my mom! then i got ready for my big date with Grant! we went and painted at the pottery painting place, my fave and then we got dinner at Z Tejas. it was delish. Grantler always spoils me :) it was a lovely day to celebrate our 6 month anniversary.
-Sunday i got to join Grant at church! i just love going to church with him! mama made green chile just for me and it was good. Grant came for dinner too so that was a plus!
*i am sooo tired! i am feeling a large wave of tiredness crash into me and i am not going to fight it. i will continue posting tomorrow!