looking forward.

i'm the kind of person who is always looking forward to something. i just LOVE anticipation; being excited about something in the future. sometimes i think i enjoy looking forward to things more than i enjoy them actually happening. anyway, here are some things i'm looking forward to in the next few months:

1. onerepublic concert in honolulu- feb 21st. they are such a talented band. their song apologize will always be near to my heart because i did a dance to that song and it was kind of an emotional experience for me. throughout the duration of learning this dance, i was in a relationship, had to end that relationship, and learned to move on. the dance helped me express my feelings and helped me cope. anyway.. they have tons of other great songs besides apologize. i'm very excited to see them live.

2. finishing the semester- april 8th. yeah, i'm way sick of school right now. totally over it. (well, not totally, cause i still find myself going daily. but just about.) i love all my classes this semester, but i'm just really ready for a break from school. sadly, the end of the semester also means the end of hawaii for me... i try not to think about that.

3. starting my mission papers- march. that's right folks, the time has finally come. i've only been saying that i wanted to go on a mission for the past 2 and a half years. i can actually start my papers next month. wow. unreal... :)

4. chicago- may 3rd-9th. trip for mama's birthday. gonna be fun. hopefully we don't kill each other. love the woman to death but we act more like sisters than mother/daughter most of the time. but really, i'm excited.

5. bay to breakers run- may 15th. i signed up for my first 12k! kind of a spur-of-the-moment thing. my dad asked me if i wanted to do it with him, said he'd pay for it, and that we could fly to san francisco instead of drive-- i think yes. however, the races i have under my belt amounts to one 5k. soo... i gotta start training.

6. study abroad- july 19th-august 13th. italy, greece, turkey, and egypt (if egypt has calmed down by then). oookay. SO excited. i've wanted to travel my whole life, and i'm finally doing it. yay yay yay.

7. home- in between all the other stuff. i miss my job, my house, my parents, my ward, institute, my car, feeling productive, the gym, and just the people! although the people i really miss won't be there when i get back... either way, i'm excited to go home.

8. mission- october ish. at least that's the plan. if you've been reading recently you'll have noticed a common theme: my life doesn't always work out according to plan. so, i will be mindful of the lord's will for me. i'll be prayerful, and listen to the spirit- and if for any reason i feel like i shouldn't go on my mission... i won't. but i REALLY want to. so hopefully it all works out.

so much good stuff coming up. i just gotta remember to find excitement in the day-to-day.

love,

D

things i like recently

1. greek yogurt. seriously, the stuff is SO good. lots of protein, low sugar, low carbs... it's just superfood and it's amazing with honey on it (and, when i'm not paying $7 for a box in hawaii, also with vanilla almond special k on top). yumm. and to those of you who say it's just sour cream.. shut up.

2. gossip girl. OKAY, i'm honestly addicted to this show. 3 weeks ago my roommate and i decided to start the first season... and i have not been able to stop watching it! so much drama, humor, hot guys, people living fabulous lives. not to mention i want to be blake lively... yep. addicted.

3. modern family. another show i've only recently become hooked on... it is just too funny! i sit in the library watching it between classes and i honestly can not stop myself from laughing out loud. people look at me wondering what the heck could be so funny that i can't stop myself from busting up.

4. leggings! i've had them forever, but lately i want to be in them allll the time. they're just so comfy and wonderful.

5. exercising. i've always liked working out but lately i've been working out 5-6 days a week and i just love it! i've been spending some time with my pal jillian michaels, and going running more too. also, my dance class (see #9) kicks my butt for two hours a week. anyway, being active feels great. let's see how long i can make this exercise kick last.

6. letting things go. yeah, not one of my stronger suits. when things are going on in my life i tend to think about them (over-think them). things haven't been happening as i expected them to lately and it's been really hard for me to just let it go and let things happen. taking life one day at a time is way hard for me but i've come to find i'm much happier when i do that. if something's supposed to happen, it will.

7. the spirit. okay duh, of course i always like the spirit and receiving revelation. but lately i've been receiving inspiration more often than usual. it's just such a special experience to have the spirit give me answers to my life questions. i'm able to feel so much more at peace and feeling the spirit has definitely helped me with my #6.

8. piano!! if you know me, you probably know i loooove piano. love love love it. if you want to win me over, just play it for me (really, it's that easy). i want to marry a man that plays the piano.. not a requirement of course... it would just be really.. REALLY nice.. um.. yeah.. anyway, where was i? ..oh yeah. love the piano. k, took some lessons when i was younger, but didn't stick with it. FINALLY got myself enrolled in a piano class at school, so that way it's inexpensive AND i'm obligated to keep practicing. i get bored with the piano book pretty easily so i've taken to watching youtube vids to teach me how to play some fun songs :) i spent 2 1/2 hours the other day learning apologize by one republic. love it. i also started learning an old favorite, konstantine... next on my list is what sarah said by death cab for cutie and samson by regina spektor. playing has proven to be therapeutic for me, too. starting from nothing and with practice, creating; being able to play a song helps me forget about my problems.

9. my dance class. yeah, another thing i've always liked. i've danced for years. i'm even known by some as "dancing danielle." so dance isn't something new that i love. but i hadn't taken a "real" dance class in over a year, so taking dance this semester has been so great for me. my teacher is probably the cutest lady ever? and she's four months pregnant and she schools all of us. she's hard core. i have fun people in my class, and i've learned some of the funnest dances ever!

10. my psychology classes. this semester i'm taking developmental psychology, cultural psychology, and personality. i'm loving being a psych major; all my classes interest me! it's fun to learn for a change. huh. the last three things i liked comprised my entire class schedule. i guess i like school this semester?

of course it goes without saying (but i guess i'm saying it anyway)

that i love my family and my friends and my roommates so much.

and, living in hawaiian paradise... that's a given.

til next time :)

faith, trust, patience, and following the spirit.

those are some of the things i've been learning lately. i've said it before but i'll say it again- i like to plan my life. i really like to. i've had to learn that i can't plan it all out, that it doesn't always work that way. right when i think i have it all figured out and i adjust my plans accordingly, that new plan changes, and then it changes again. haha. heavenly father keeps throwing curve balls at me.

some scriptures for me to live by these days:

trust in the lord with all thine heart, and lean not

unto thine own understanding,

in all thy ways acknowledge him,

and he shall direct thy paths.

-proverbs 3:5-6

look unto me in every thought; doubt not, fear not.

- doctrine and covenants 6:36

i know that [the lord] loveth his children, nevertheless i do not know the meaning of all things.

- 1 nephi 11:17

i have no idea why these situations are happening in my life. the fact that my future is so up in the air makes me really nervous. but i have followed the spirit in making decisions contrary to my own plans in the past, and i have seen time and time again that it was the best thing for me. it's really hard for me to live my life one day at a time and put all my trust in god. but i'm learning. and i'm grateful for the learning experience-- whatever my future holds.

it started out as a feeling, which then grew into a hope...

...which then turned into quiet thought,

which then turned into a quiet word"

-regina spektor

well. christmas break was just lovely.

my 3.9 gpa made me pretty happy right off the bat.

i didn't do anything too terribly exciting...

spent a lot of time with my family and friends.

which is all i really wanted anyway :)

we got all the girls together for dinner, took family photos (boomichellephotography.blogspot.com), had a lovely christmas with my parents. i found my new favorite game-- geocaching!... it's like a worldwide scavenger hunt thing. so much fun. i went first with holly and then i made john go with me another time or two. yep, it was a really great two weeks.

i learned some really important lessons from those i spent time with. also i just had a lot of things come together for me... things i was in the process of learning all last semester that were finally made clear. things back home changed... some good, some bad, some indifferent. it was hard to leave with good opportunities in front of me, but i know i'm supposed to be right where i am.

i've learned i need to stop trying to plan my life. i've always been that way, trying to have everything figured out so far in advance. it makes me feel good. but 2010 has taught me that things don't always work out as i've planned them. but nonetheless heavenly father has a plan for me. i could go on, but i think this quote by president ezra taft benson sums it up better than i ever could:

"men and women who turn their lives over to god

will find out that he can make a lot more

of their lives than they can."

so, i'm happy to let god take the lead in my life.

i'm just taking it one day at a time.

and let's leave it at that :)

pet peeve:

when i'm in the library and someone has music playing so loud on their headphones that i can hear it five seats away.

seriously? turn your freakin music down. i'm trying to focus.

a "wintry" afternoon!

this afternoon when i came home, i got such a treat-

it was cold enough for me to wear a sweatshirt!

granted, i'm still in shorts, but hawaii very rarely gives me a chance to wear a sweatshirt without overheating.

so i'm very grateful.

this afternoon it's gloomy, cloudy, windy, and rainy.

AND the waves are rollin in like crazy.

so i took the opportunity to enjoy the wintry-feeling afternoon.

i made myself some mashed potatoes and minestrone soup, turned the big chair towards the balcony, and sat watching the ocean and the gray sky.

the big chair, my soup, my view.

brrr!

we know it's a long shot. but we're still crossin our fingers

for some fluffy white stuff on our palm trees. :)

...did i mention it's 70 degrees right now? shucks.

just because everything's changing doesn't mean it's never been this way before...

okay so i gotta catch up a little bit. a couple saturdays ago a group of us did this hike called stairway to heaven. it was pretty cool. it was really steep, and i would have been much happier if it wasn't so foggy at the top. we couldn't see a thing! oh well, on the way back down i got some good shots.

oh, and did i mention there are 3,992 stairs?

another day, i found myself alone in the back of my friend's truck with my camera.. so i decided to take a few shots of what an everyday laie drive looks like.