Where there is Lightening ...

I have NEVER been in such a violent thunder & lightening storm ever in my life... check this out.

Here is the Weather Advisory. We live across the Hudson River from Lake Luzern and down the road from Glens Falls... just fyi.

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ALBANY NY
954 PM EDT SAT JUL 26 2008

NYZ041-042-083-270245-
NORTHERN SARATOGA NY-NORTHERN WARREN NY-SOUTHEAST WARREN NY-
954 PM EDT SAT JUL 26 2008

...A STRONG THUNDERSTORM IN NORTHERN SARATOGA AND WARREN COUNTIES...

AT 951 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING...AROUND HALF INCH HAIL...WINDS
AROUND 50 MPH...FREQUENT LIGHTNING...AND HEAVY RAIN. THIS STORM WAS
LOCATED NEAR DAY CENTER...OR ABOUT 17 MILES SOUTHWEST OF
WARRENSBURG...AND MOVING EAST AT 30 MPH.

THE THUNDERSTORM WILL BE NEAR...
LAKE LUZERNE CAMPGROUND AND LAKE LUZERNE-HADLEY BY 1010 PM EDT
LAKE GEORGE...LAKE GEORGE VILLAGE...6 MILES SOUTH OF WARRENSBURG AND
8 MILES NORTH OF WEST GLENS FALLS BY 1025 PM EDT
8 MILES NORTH OF GLENS FALLS BY 1030 PM EDT

RAINFALL RATES UP TO A HALF AN INCH AN HOUR WILL LIKELY OCCUR.

MOST FLOOD DEATHS OCCUR IN AUTOMOBILES. NEVER DRIVE YOUR VEHICLE INTO
AREAS WHERE THE WATER COVERS THE ROADWAY. TURN AROUND...DONT DROWN.

A FLOOD ADVISORY MEANS RIVER OR STREAM FLOWS ARE ELEVATED OR PONDING
OF WATER IN URBAN OR OTHER AREAS IS OCCURRING OR IS IMMINENT.


Here is some good lightening shots... constantly lighting up the sky every few seconds.



Here is a video of the Thunder... you might laugh at me. It was so loud that I turned the camera off because because I went to duck and cover! lol... I have never heard lightening like this before.






Well I have had an exciting evening... Ryan is at work tonight working graves. Hope you all enjoyed the storm as much as I do! I am sure I made my dad jealous.. woo hoo!


Good night!
Dani

I Have Been Tagged! Again!

I am not going to lie... I really like being tagged... it gives me something to do and I get to learn new and fun things about those who have tagged me.

Kori tagged me... what goes around comes around I guess, so here it goes...

6 Words that describe my life:

1. Bubbly
(Anyone who knows me figures this one out really quick!)

2. Outgoing
(I love getting out and doing something... ANYTHING... whether it requires money or just plain old elbow grease)

(Halloween last year... I was Lois Lane & Ryan was... none other than Clark Kent)

3.Technologically Savvy
(Now that we live on the east coast we would be lost with out the ability to keep in touch with our friends and family... keeps us sane!)

4. Random

(My husband never ceases to amaze me when it comes to the things he does. He is always keeping me on my toes)

(Yes we did see this and yes I did HAVE to take a picture... it totally made me week!)

5. Blissful!!
(We have been labeled by many as sickeningly sweet... what can I say... we are in love! Blissful Love!)

(My good friend made this picture for Ryan & I ... I think the title fits rather well!)

6.Laid back
(I know it is a little contradictory to #'s2&4 but Ryan and I could stay at home and be totally content ... just hanging back away from the hustle and bustle of the rest of the world.)

(Time on the ship with Ryan... just hanging out watching movies... ahh good times.)



Ok... so now it is my turn to tag some lucky contestants... once tagged you must repost this and answer the fun questions!

I tag: Marianna, Jackie, Amy & Amanda

Woo Hoo...

My lovely cousin Korin is EXPECTING... Woo Hoo!

I was going to post something earlier but decided to let her be the ice breaker of such wonderful news!

I wanted to take this time to reflect on my oober amazing cousin.

I have a pretty awesome group of cousins BUT our lovely Korin is my closest in age, friendship and spirituality.

I would describe her as loving, loyal, honest, hard working, generous, sweet & a little shy but gutsy when she needs to be.

A few moments from our past that always make me laugh when I think about them are:

• Many of you know her as being very timid and dare I say quiet. This might make you think of her a little differently. One day a couple of Jehovah Witness missionaries knocked on our door, after explaining to them that we were content with our Mormon faith and appreciated their time but not really interested in what they had to say one individual began to get gutsy by stating that our religion was false. He explained that in Revelations it states that no other scripture would come after that particular statement of closing. Kori explained to the man that it also states that in Deuteronomy, which is the 5th book in the Old Testament for those who do not know. The man did not believe her and challenged her to prove it.. so she did. Scriptures in hand she wanted to point it out and by that time the overly boastful man had turned rather timid and hurriedly walked away.
  

• Growing up when Kori was little our Grandmother would ask her ... "Kori how do you spell your name...? tell grandma how to spell Kori". Sweet Kori would reply "O-R!"... and now to my Grandma Kori will always be known as our cute little 'O-R'.
  

• Kori has always been somewhat of a talker in her sleep. Once her Dad found this out... by accident of course... he would ask her where she would hide here secret stash of money or her journal ... then tease her about finding her secret hiding places.
  

• She has always been extremely talented in just about everything there is to be talented in. All growing up, and still today, she was very creative and was known for her artistic skills... always drawing fun things. Me being a little copy cat would try to be just like her but to my dismay my attempts were anything but flattering and my drawing skills were not nearly as advanced as hers.
  

• Kori had this doll that she carried around... cute little doll named Ally. She swore up and down that she was going to name her first girl Ally and her first boy Colby. She named her first boy after her Great Grandma Colby, who she absolutely adored and talked about all of the time.
  

• All growing up Kori played basketball. She was very diligent in her love of the game and excelled as one of the best on the team, however she was never super aggressive on the court. After realized she needed to be a little more ... "mean" on the court she came up with a plan... and was quickly known for throwing killer elbows.

• Kori's all time favorite basketball player was, and I am sure still is, Larry Bird... He was all she could talk about for a good chunck of her childhood. For awhile there we thought she might contemplate marriage or maybe settle for adoption. Bless her heart.
  

Well I hope you all enjoyed a little insight into the funny world of my cute cousin. She is an amazing individual with a heart of gold. Her generosities are endless and has been a real strength in my life. Kori has been such a wonderful example and never ceases to amaze me.

I am so happy for you Kori... I cannot wait to meet your little bun in the oven!


Yours Truly,
D

I need some advice...

Ok...

So with lots of pressure from just about everyone, in reference to cutting my hair short... I decided to see what it would look like... so I did this.


I looked up websites that had virtual haircuts and found this one... and finally found one that did cost anything, unless you wanted to upload more than one picture. Anyhow... Here is an example of a haircut that I wouldnt mind getting if I were to go short.

Story about why I am so nervous about cutting my hair. When I was little my mom thought it would be a good idea to cut my long locks off. I was so upset that I asked the hairdresser to glue my hair back on with tears streaming down my face... I was only 3 years old.

At first the hair cute was really cute... but then turned into the dreaded Dorathy Hammill haircute... which on me looked more like the haircut from the Dutch Boy Paint label.















Not to mention I looked like a boy all growing up...

Needless to say I have been rather hesitant about parting with my long hair. It has been an intense struggle and is slowly winning.

I am sure you have noticed the Haircut poll on the side bar... Go ahead and vote for the style you think would look the best on me. I can use all the help and support I can get!

Thanks a bunch!

D

Our New Callings...

WELL HELLO MY DEAR FRIENDS...
(Yes there is a reason for it being in all caps... I am trying to get your attention)

As many of you know I have a new calling but you might not know that Ryan has two new callings... very busy we will be.

I am the new Ward Activities Director ... I have no committee since the ward is so small but I can call people as I need them.

Ryan is the new Young Men's Secretary as well as the 12-14 yr old class Primary Teacher.

Well now that that announcement is taken care of... I need your help. So far I have come up with some pretty decent ward activities but would LOVE more input. Any suggestions would help and I would also love to take this time to have...

ANOTHER GIVE AWAY...

If you have a suggestion that I use... You will receive a prize that is TBA at the moment... but come on anything that I have to give away will defiantly be worth getting and for free at that! Anyhow... keep those suggestions coming. I will close the Giveaway August 1st. I will be picking anyone that has a good suggestion that I will be using... so anyone can win! WOOHOO!

Give away rules are:

1. You can leave a maximum of 5 suggestions.
2. Your suggestion cannot already be given.
3. Activity must be decently specific, not vauge like: Pot luck
4. The more unique and inexpensive the better!
   

Your generous friend,
Dani

Happy Day For Amy!!!

WOO HOO!!! Look Who Just Had Twins!




I just wanted to take a couple of seconds and congratulate my roomie from college and friend Amy and her husband Chad! She just had twin baby girls Ellie & Lily, who are so cute.

Amy I am so happy for you two and I hope that all goes well for you especially these next couple of months. Good luck!

Your friend,

Danielle

I Need To Pay Up...

I have recently been tagged by Kelsey... So here it goes:


3 Joys:

1. Getting Married to my amazing husband, that was an easy one.

2. Getting Sealed to my amazing husband, te he te he another easy one!

3. Getting a personal tour through the Salt Lake Temple to see the Apartment, that is inside, where James E Talmage wrote Jesus The Christ in by the Temple President himself... Priceless, it was a close second to my sealing because of the spiritual feeling of it all and the Family ties.


3 Fears:

1. Losing my husband and having a ton of kids and having to find another husband... I dont want another husband... I like the one I have!

2. Dieing. It isn't the fact of facing the life after death but being taken from my husband and then watching him struggle without me and me not being able to do anything to come to his aid.

3. Being Robbed. Blame my mother on this one. She calls me up with all sorts of horrifying stories she hears on the news and what not that I double check the locks all of the time and I cant sleep at night if I know there is a door or window not locked. Mini panic attack.


3 Goals:

1. Finally get my Personal Training Certification. I swear people are starting to think I am making it up. But ya know... you can only go as far as your paycheck will allow.

2. Fix up this HOUSE! I know we could do so much with this house but I have to hold myself back a lot since we are not planning on staying in it forever... just needs to be nice enough.

3. Get back into dancing. It was such an outlet for me and I know I wasnt the greatest dancer in the world but ya know... it made such hard times in my life so much easier to deal with by shedding the stress as my body moved across the dance floor.


3 Current obsessions/collections:

1. Working out... I need a six pack!

2. Blogging... muah ha ha. I love being creative with words!

3. Getting out of the house and doing something with my husband... pretty much everyday that I can. Not as much as Emily though, geeze.


3 Random surprising facts about myself:

1. I... like Kelsey... recently learned how to spell a word that is learned by most 4th graders... The word would be Satan. You would think with me being religious I would pay attention to the spelling in the scriptures and be tipped off... oh no.. I spelled it S-A-N-T-A-N until probably 4 years ago. This word is also very close to Santa... poor guy... He probably thought I was talking about him this whole time.lol.

2. I have the weirdest facination with Pickles... once again I blame my family for spoiling me with the BEST pickles on the planet. Unfortunatly for me they do not exist on the east coast. I used to all them the King Pickles, because they have a picture of a like King Pickle guy on their lable... never mind the name they will always be my King Pickles. You can mail me them for my birthday, seriously lol.

3. I have become more timid and bashful as I have gotten older. I know... this is not something anyone would have ever expected of me but it is true. Maybe the wild and crazy Danielle has finally settled into her more natural self.


I Tag... Kori, Kathlene, Jess & Mariana

A Little Pep In Your Step!!

So Most Of You Know That I Love To Dance:

I was scoping out my friends' pages and came across this fun little quiz. So I said to myself... why not. Thank you Brigitte!

Which ballroom dance are you? created with QuizFarm.com

You scored as Rumba You are Rumba, the dance of Love! Sexy and tortured, you are just plain irresistible! You have an obsessive personality and are good at making pained facial expressions for dramatic effect. You are a big tease, but we forgive you because you’re so hot. You wear very little clothing. Rumba 83% Waltz 83% Jive 75% Quickstep 67% PasoDolble 67% Foxtrot 67% ChaCha 67% Samba 50% Viennese Waltz 42% Tango 33%

HE IS HOME!!!

Well After a long 4 days in the hospital...


Ryan came home from the hospital on Saturday. He is on antibiotics for his Staph infection. After he received his priesthood blessing the infection continued to progress, which was frightening for both of us, but two days later the infection decided to surrender.

We had found out that there was another guy from Ryans work that was also in the inpatient care with the same infection who was not as lucky as Ryan was. He had waited to long to be seen, which is generally what the Navy wants to weed out the people who are not really sick, and his had turned into a life threatening situation where emergency surgery was only thing they could do.

Ryan is doing much better because of a multitude of reasons; faith, priesthood power, family and friends' prayers, his already strong immune system and great doctors who acted fast.

Thank you all for your prayers and compassion.

Since being out of the hospital... Ryan & I have attended a 4th of July backyard BBQ at our neighbors, gone to church and even attended a Rush concert on Sat. night. I guess being stuck in a confining hospital bed he was more than inching to get out and have a little bit of fun, can ya blame him?

D

BLAH!!!!!

And I am out for the day... Enjoy your long weekend everybody!!!

I just wanted to wish everyone a Happy 4th of July! I am headed off to the hospital to hang out with my husband. Thank you so much for your support and prayers.

I talked to my Step Mom last night about everything, she is a nurse, and she said to expect him to be in the hospital anywhere from 5 to 10 days. I really hope that is not the case.

D

Not Such A Spectacular 4th of July Weekend Ahead...

So...

Ryan is in the hospital for a pretty intense Staph infection that the Doctors think are turning or already is MRSA, which is a string of Staph that doesnt react to antibiotics. He was admitted yesterday and sat in the ER all day and night. He was then admitted into hospital today and will be there for a couple of days.

He has had a pretty good attitude about being stuck in a hospital so far but... as the night ran on and as my time to leave grew closer Ryan started to feel a little down.

it made me realize... seeing him in a hospital gown... that he is not as invincible as many would think. You really do need to treasure every moment because you never really know when it is going to be your last, well at least for awhile that is.

Moral of the story is... Ladies... cuddle with your husbands tonight because you never know when you will have to go without it for awhile!

D

Up To No Good...

Ok so this is not completely true...

But we have been up to a lot lately. Here is what we have done.

Gone to the park.

















This is the beautiful Congress Park in downtown Saratoga Springs.





These are some of the "Natural Springs" in which Saratoga is infamous for... hence the name Saratoga Springs.







This is a picture of Ryan fake drinking the water... he had already tried it and spit it out because it tasted so bad so I made him pretend he was drinking it so I could get a picture.

All of the springs taste different.

The spring in the first picture, as well as the most ornate looking fountain, was by far the worst tasting water.

The second spring tasted like regular city water... which i probably was... and the third tasted like we were sucking on dirty pennies, not that I would know or anything.



We can also say that we have rode the Congress Park Carousel. It is a restored Carousel that was moved from one side of town to the other in order to preserve it.





















This picture is of Ryan OBVIOUSLY posing for the camera... he wanted to make riding a carousel more manly by pretending he was racing...lol... he is more than just a kid at heart.














One park is apparently not enough for us because we also went to "The Yadoo Gardens"

It has a wonderful history... a love story actually. A husband built and dedicated a massive and ornate rose garden to his wife. The estate was later turned over to create a artist community and the gardens into a retreat and park.


If you liked "The Secret Garden" you would love the Yadoo Gardens.

























































Other than visiting Saratoga's finest Parks... we have also added on to our little family. No I am no pregnant... no we did not get a pet... We bought a CAR! WOOHOO!


Ok so it is not technically ours we are leasing but that is for a very good reason. Ryan and I decided that buying a new car in such a transitional time in automobile tecnology would be a huge mistake for us. I mean what is going to happen in 5 years when we would still be making payments on a car that might not even be capable of running on whatever they are selling at the pumps.


This is the car we are leasing...


















Isn't she beautiful?! Her name is Sara... for Saratoga... cute name huh?



As if visiting all of the visit worthy parks in Saratoga and buying a new car where not enough... we have dabbled in yet more exciting things.

Dining at the best little hole in the wall restaurant in Saratoga... As for you Tri-Cities folk it is a lot like Ruffs Giant Burgers... but better. We rubbed elbows with the racing communities local crowd at a place that those hoity toity out-of-towners, who only park their car via valet, would never be caught dead in... "PJ's Barbeque Pit" ( Please click on restaurant name to experience a little bit of its ghetto blue collar-ness) ... the name just makes my mouth water.

Their food was amazing and was dangerously delicious considering the fact that my "full meter" was not affected by the tastiness of the food... I could have kept going if Ryan had not given me the "You Are Such A Pig" sign by making a little piggy nose and snorting.

This place was nothing short of blue collar... the restaurant had something I had never before seen, other than the fried green beans, its very own 50's dedicated Radio Station that played not only over the speakers but also over the airwaves.


As you can see... my life isn't as boring as sometimes I portray it. I have been blessed with a mellow husband who can let down his hair and have a little fun and even be spontaneous if the mood calls for it.


What have you been up to that puts that extra pep back into your step? Don't be shy... give me some feed back... you never know I might just steal your ideas for my date night!

And The Winner Is....

Drum Roll Please...


Kathlen!

Congrats to Kathlen who guessed "Something for the house" who was the first to guess and the closest guesser (Is that really a word?). So Kathlen come claim your prize!

Unfortunately no one guessed dead on that it would be this:












A Custom needle point in a custom frame.

Ok I know it is not a plasma TV, trust me we could totally put one to use, or a really expensive SLR camera... but it was made for Ryan and me by my step sister and framed (as well as stretched in a rather expensive frame) by my Dad and Step Mom.

I really like it and am grateful that I have such a great family who thinks about me even when I am at the other end of the country... I guess I am not applicable to the "Out of sight out of mind" rule.

I had so much fun with this giveaway that I am actually trying to think of other things to do in order to give fun things away.

I will be having another give away here soon so stay tuned.

D