If I may.

Quote Tangled: "BEST DAY, EVERRRRRR!"
Now if you haven't seen tangled, well, neither have I, but go watch the trailor, & then let's go see it together. But once you've seen the trailor & understand the tone & weight of this quote, then proceed to my rendition to describe today:

Tangled Quote subtract BEST, *Substitute:Worst.... = "WORST DAY, EVERRRRR!!"

Ohkay now that I have described my feelings on today, let me then proceed to explain. First & completely foremost, I hate money. I hate the way it clings to me, in control of my every move & breath. & Just when I get a grip of it & decide i'm not stressed out over finances anymore, something monstrous always happens, let's be honest, this is life. It's like life can't hit you hard in one area at a time, but when life hits, it falls apart in every aspect. As if just having no car right now wasn't hard enough, or having 3 jobs & no car, but no the fix to the car has to be the "worst case scenario" as the Tow Man told me in options yesterday, & again my mechanic then reiterated to me in the form of a very close to 4 digit bill. Not the kind of thing you want to hear, ever, but especially while working 3 jobs and wondering how you're going to get home for the holidays, not to mention i'm avoiding the christmas gift issue entirely in my head. (promise i'll be a better gifter next year loved ones!)

However, as overwhelming this day was all before noon, I was overwhelmed with another, completely contrasting, emotion as I stepped into my apartment after work: Blessed. Funny how that happens on a day like today.  You see, because today I walked into my apartment to find a pretty good sized package sitting on the floor with my name on it. I opened it & completely full to the top it was, with tons of white chocolate reeces! One of my faves! I literally just stood there with tears streaming down my face, overwhelmed with the contrast of such a horrible morning & yet having such wonderful and thoughtful friends. I know you're totally thinking about how ridiculous I am to cry over white chocolate reeces, but hey we're all allowed to be a little wacky sometimes & today's my day.  So here I am today, stressed but humbled, & so thankful for such good friends and family, now on to the 2/3 left of this day.


Danielle Nicole.

This season.

This holiday season, I am focusing on simplicity.
& As for today, I am simply appreciating the little things of my day, becuase the big things are bringing me far more stress. So today, I am focused on my high school girls & their adventures of high school, & homework, and faith, & boys. Today I am focusing on my apartments recently added christmas decorations; a tree & stockings & garland, which have reminded what white christmas twinkling lights can really do to your heart & how I should probably leave them up every day of the year. & Today the way that braided bangs transform a bed-head into a masterpiece. The kind of masterpiece that people are lead to believe must have taken you a whole 20-30 minutes to do when realistically you had no choice but to rapid fire the braid into your hair in the 2.3 minutes because the snooze button was too enticing this morning to pass up...7 times before you remember the reason you set your alarm in the first place; to shower & prepare for a busy day. Thank you today for my girls, Christmas spirit, & the [in]famous unfailing braid.


Danielle Nicole.

Women Sparkle.

"It is nearing the end of the sixth day, the end of the Creator's great labor, as Adam steps forth, the image of God, the triumph of his work. He alone is pronounced the son of God. Nothing in creation even comes close. Picture Michelangelo's David. He is.. magnificent. Truly, the masterpiece seems complete. And yet, the Master says that something is not good, not right. Something is missing... and that something is Eve.


And the Lord God casts a deep slumber on the human, and he slept, and He took one of his ribs and closed over the flesh where it had been, and the Lord God built the rib He had taken from the human into a woman and He brought her to the human (Genesis 2:21-23 Alter).


She is the crescendo, the final, astonishing work of God. Woman. In one last flourish creation comes to a finish not with Adam, but with Eve. She is the Master's finishing touch. How we wish this were an illustrated book, and we could show you now some painting for sculpture that captures this, like the stunning Greek sculpture of the goddess Nike of Samothrace, the winged beauty, just alighting on the prow of a great ship, her beautiful form revealed through the thin veils that sweep around her. Eve is... breathtaking" (John & Stasi Eldridge, Captivating, 25).

I love this.
This part of the book Captivating by John & Stasi Eldridge definitely points out something that captures my heart and contrasts what my mind has grown to believe about myself as a woman. I have recently looked into a couple different sources that take the Eve creation story and use it to redeem the expectations and demands that this world has put on women and their appearance. I think this is such a strong truth. Not really one of those things you can debate or argue, Genesis spells it out pretty clear that Eve is the fulfillment of something missing, that she is good, & designed to fill man's void, & designed completely in God's mind & image. & How absolutely outrageous does that sound? But what is even more outrageous is the way I cannot find the ability in me to believe those things daily about myself the way I can believe it about Eve when i read the story. I continue to daily believe that there is always something more I could have or buy that would enhance my beauty. That there is always something more or less I could be doing to make myself a more-perfect woman. That I was created slightly less than beautiful.

Tonight I had the opportunity to attend another of Shauna Niequist's Bittersweet Events, this one at the church I attend currently, Rock Harbor Church Fullerton, & this image and story of Eve; breathtaking, hand-crafted, & completing, came to my mind. This event was for women only, with the exception of pastor Steve Carter who lead discussion. Looking around at all the different women in the audience & then up at the stage at Kendall Payne capturing everyone's hearts during her performance, & up at Shauna sharing her heart and passion through her writing & lifestyle, I was reminded of the biblical truths about women, this Eve concept. The beauty of women, & the way it doesn't come from the make up we wear or the cutest boots of the season that we own. But it comes from deep within, this breath taking, void-filling character of a woman is found in her desire to nurture, & to host. Her passion and deep emotion for those people in her life, & the ways she finds to care for them in her own unique way she was designed to.
I look next to me, to my D-group girls. I see breathtakingly beautiful women, not because of any extensive hair-do's or designer clothes. No, their beauty is at their core. Don't get me wrong, these girls also could school me in any fashion show declared on any given day! But even the shabby chic natur of these girls is not what holds their beauty. They are beautiful because of the way they love each other and those around them. They are beautiful when they laugh because they are genuine & strong and honest. They are beautiful when they cry because they are real & compassionate. They embody beauty in the way they act & love. I couldn't have ever asked for girls in my life to love me, call me their own leader, & challenge me in the ways that they do, naturally.

So girls, a few thoughts tonight for you are don't hide. Don't hide behind make up, pony-tails, roommates we think are prettier than ourselves, & even Starbucks cups. & Don't run from God, especially in the doubt of your beauty. Go ahead, get angry at him, disagree with Him or the way He made you, have some doubt, but take all these things and turn to Him with them. Argue with Him, be mad at Him, but don't run away from Him. He is so much bigger than anything you could possibly feel or bring to His table & He is all-wecoming of it. So fight Him & doubt Him, but don't run away, let him walk with you & prove to you He is so much bigger and truer than you sometimes can believe. Let him pursue you & affirm your beauty because He designed you just how he wanted you, as His beloved.

I love you girls.

Danielle Nicole.

I'm claiming Bragging Rights.

I would like to dedicate this post to showing off one of my dear & longest friend's baby, Cohen. & Yes, I am claiming full bragging rights, as friend of the mother of the cutest baby ever. Did you follow that?

He really is just the most utterly cute baby, (that I have yet to meet,) but until then I continue living vicariously through the most amazing pictures & adventurous new-mom blogposts. 

So Thank you Kate, & Victor, for your most adorable son, can't wait to meet him in December!

 I know right? Doesnnnn't get any cuter.

& yes, I know you're thinking he is the best dressed, most presh baby right? It's his mom, she's downright amazing, check her work out See Kate Sew! 

Danielle Nicole.

November 9.

November 9th is a hard day.
It has been hard since 2007.
I can remember that night better than any other.
Isn't it funny that the times we wish we could forget or shake off are the ones we most likely never will?

But today, November 9, 2010, was good.
& not only good, but one of the best days i've had in a while lately.
Today I got hired at Miss Kelly's Coffee shop at UCI medical center, an answer to months of prayer.
I also got to spend time with a woman who is very dear to me & encourages me in my sanity & beyond it. Then I worked a balloon shift, which, yes i hate, but I have prayed for money & that shift is just that. So today was a blessing & it reminded me of that fact, that life is a blessing, & what better of a day to be reminded of that.

Julie, You were beautiful, funny, and soooo smart. I know you're up there & each year on this day you most likely shake your head at the moments you catch alot of us sneak away from our routines, out to our cars, or bedrooms, or even a nearby closet & lose our composure momentarily because it still doesn't feel quite normal, or fair, or easy when the date catches us offguard or a sudden memory racks our brains. I'm sure you're up there loving the new Maroon 5 cd, & laughing, & being beautiful, hoping that we'll embrace the blessing life is & how much richer the people around us make it, just like you made our lives richer.

To 4 year old library dates, middle school craft parties, and tons and tons of scrunch-nosed laughter from your beautiful face.

Love you Jules.


Danielle Nicole.

Proud Roots.

AHhhHhhhHHhhhhhh GIANNNNTS!!!! AHHHHhhHHHHH FEAR THE BEARD!!! AHHHHHHH LET TIMMY SMOKE!!! AHHHHHHHH


....... I know, I know. For all of you who are not from Northern California, this is allll getting a little old, a little annoying, & a little crazy. However, it is a pretty historic event that has taken place, & well I can't lie about the pride glowing from anyone around here who does or has called the bay area home at somepoint, & we just can't help it, it's natural :) But I think my pride and joy in this event is more for my grandfather than anything else. Although he passed last August, I know without a doubt he had box seats in heaven for those series games & I'm sure he's up there rioting at the  SF parade right now, it's only fitting of his character. For the man who I have never ever known to miss a single Giants game, for any reason, this victory is perfect, I only wish he was physically here still so I could enjoy it next to him. But, because I knew him well, & have a firm standing belief that Heaven is full of a person's favorite things, I know he's celebrating hard with JC himself.

So congratulations Giants, & Grandpa, be proud up there, while I'm proud down here for you.


Danielle Nicole.

Hearing God.

What does it sound like when God speaks?
What does it feel like when God leads?

These are the two questions that are daily filling my brain during this season of my life.
This season, I am learning alot. Learning to trust, & not to live controlled by fear. Fear of my past & fear of the future together. I am learning to listen and live, which is risky, but good. 
Today is a great day off, I am finally feeling better & I am hoping this will lead to full health after a month of being off & on sick. Today is a day to rest, a day to read, a day to think. I like those days, even when combatting a cold. Today I want to rest in my thoughts on God's voice. I want to rest in the quiet of this apartment and listen for it. Solitude can be a scary thing for me. I like people, I like conversation, I like being busy. But I know that solitude is something that is teaching me something new during this season & God is giving me lots of it these days. There are tons of questions I don't have answered, like where I will be this summer, or next year, or will I have a job this summer, or next year? But I think what God is saying to me right now regard Today. Not tomorrow. Before tomorrow can come, today must be lived & overcome. So in that, Today, you are good, & you have given me hope in a future opportunity, & you are reminding me about things I am good at. So Today, thank you.


Danielle Nicole.