the promised details

Hello blogosphere. I can't believe I'm on here, writing the story of how I got engaged!

Crazy crazy crazy crazy crazy.

Here's how it all went down:

Michael and I started talking about the possibility of marriage an alarmingly short period of time after we started dating. As recorded in my journal, August 24th was the first time the word was spoken (I panicked inside but hid it well, I think). A mere four months after the beginning of Dani and Michael. It wasn't until a month ago, though, that we decided to move forward and actually make things happen. At which point commenced project: ring shopping.

(And you should know, the one that I fell in love with was the first I tried on.
It was love at first sight)

So. Friday night.

I was pretty sure he was gonna do it that night, but wasn't 100% sure. He picked me up a little before 7:00 after Rachelle's bridal shower (ps: that thing was so. much. fun. I love getting together with all of those girls!) and when I got in the car he asked, "So, what do you want to do tonight?"

Ugh. Annoyance. At this point I figured it wasn't going to happen.

But after I refused to give him any ideas he said: "Hey, I have an idea. I really want to eat at that place at Park City that we ate at last month." Suspicious, no? My hopes were up again. On the way to Park City though, he kept asking me what I wanted to do afterward.

More annoyance. Lack of planning=lack of engagement.

Turns out it was all a show. That tricky boy. After getting to Park City and finding our restaurant, Michael claimed that he felt sick and needed to go to the bathroom. After a long time in the bathroom, I texted Jill and said "There is no way this boy is proposing tonight :("

Increased levels of annoyance.

After dinner, he headed off to the bathroom for another long appointment, then we left to go back to Provo. Now, I was not dressed Park-City appropriate. Not even close. I was wearing a 3/4 length light jacket and flats. In the snow and freezing weather. In my defense, it was warmer in Provo and I wasn't anticipating snow when dressing for the evening. When we got closer to the car I started running.

But.

Michael, still holding my hand, grabbed onto me even tighter, yanked me into the nearest art gallery and said, "Let's just go in here."

Suspicious.

But I'm always down for a good art gallery, as long as it's warm. When we walked in, the couple greeting us had a bunch of balloons, congratulated us on being the 500th customers and said that everything in the art gallery was 50% off.

Even more suspicious.

So Michael led me to the back of the gallery to look at art. Or so it appeared. Because the next second, I turned around and he had vanished. When I went hunting for him, I found him facing a large floor-to-ceiling window looking out onto Main Street. When I got closer, he turned around with another balloon and a shiny ring in one hand.

Getting even more suspicious :)

Then. I love this part :) He got down on one knee and asked, "Dani, will you marry me?"

At which point I started screaming and jumping around like a maniac. I don't even think I said yes, he just slipped the ring onto my wrong finger with shaky hands, slipped it off of the wrong finger with shaky hands, and then slipped it onto the right finger with shaky hands.

Turns out that his sister Emily and her husband Alec set the whole thing up and were photographing us from across the street. They even met a real-life VH1 celebrity who ran over with Alec and Emily because they watched the whole thing with them. That part was kinda weird...

Either way. I am a very happily engaged woman :)
Wedding date? The jury's still out on that one...
It's going to be some time in March though. Stay tuned!!

Ps: I should clarify that both of his marathon bathroom trips were all to check up on the logistics of the impending engagement :)

Ahem

i have an anouncement.

i
am
ENGAGED!!

details to follow...
in the meantime, please ogle over this little beauty:

i can't stop looking at it.

ha! blog stalking!

Guess what, peeps.

I'm a winner!
As evidenced by this blog.

Who would have thought that blog creeping would have worked out so well?
how fun!

thanks justlikemarypoppins.blogspot.com, i will wear the morange well :)

confession

I love public speaking. Like, love it.
I just found out that for a final I have to give a presentation. And I couldn't be more excited. I know some people get freaked out by this kind of stuff, but I just can't empathize.

Because I love trying to work a crowd.

Which is why I love my calling as a Sunday school teacher.

Not to mention why I considered teaching high school for so long.

And also why I might run for public office someday.

Just get me a microphone and a bored audience and I am the happiest of campers.


Ps: After reading this by Sister Amy M., now off in the Provo MTC waiting to go to the Philipines, I went and purchased Smith's Rosebud Salve from Sephora, my favorite store on this entire earth. And guess what, that girl was not lying. This stuff is now an every-day staple for me too. i. love. it. But beware, it's pronounced "SAV," not "SALVE" like it's spelled. I had to find that one out the hard way... Pronunciation issues aside, go buy it now!

my philosophy?

Does anyone else wish this quote wasn't true?

Sheesh.

If it were up to me, I'd stylize this number instead:

"Don't let your work time get in the way of your play time."

Because you know what? I have a sneaking suspicion that "someday" never comes. You know why? Because Henry B. Eyring told me so. You don't believe me? How about this? Eh?

I wish there were never things we needed to do. But alas, finals are coming in a mere 13 days, and I have a giant list accruing of all the things I need to do.

The onslaught is coming...

the adventures of a monday

I just dropped way too much money to print off 8 articles for a research paper about Tom Stoppard's play, Arcadia. At least that was what I meant to do. Instead, I printed off 100+ pages worth of the exact. same. article. At least now I'll become intimately familiar with "The Playwright and the Professors: An Interview with Tom Stoppard" by Katherine E. Kelly and William W. Demastes. And the best part? Yes. I printed all 100 sheets, though black and white, through the color printer.

And that is officially the dumbest thing I've done this week.
Sigh.
It's only Monday.

blizzard (not the delicious DQ variety)

This is what my Sunday looked like for 11 straight hours.
For those of you who aren't familiar with the commute between B-town, OR and Provo, that is an entire four hours longer than it usually takes.

Luckily, little Dekker (who isn't that little, interestingly) drove through all of the ugly stretches. Which as it turns out, was 9 of the 11 hours on the road.
Dekker=my hero.

So are these things, which I happily rediscovered on this marathon roadtrip:

And Taylor Swift, who might as well be crowned Princess of America, who served as the official roadtrip entertainment.
If you haven't heard this album, I honestly am at a loss as to how you've managed to avoid such a large chunk of pop culture.
Just go listen to it. Do it. Give in. All the cool kids are doing it...

Ps: this is my attempt to preserve a portion of Project: Gratitude...
Today I am grateful for: these cutie boots! I'm starting to fall hard for all things North Face. And my warm toes are definitely not hating.

Pss: BYU lost to Utah :( Sad.

Psss: MY BROTHER'S TEAM WON THEIR GAME!! Needless to say, after screaming pretty much the entire four-hour game long, my voice was a little pained. They won 47-29 and will be playing next week for the state title. Exciting, no? And that little guy ran for an 81-yard kickoff return! Ha he's so cute. You can read all about it here and here :)