Thursday, July 7, 2011

{ DATE #6: Daniel Woolston }


It was fun to find a familiar face on my doorstep tonight. Daniel and I had met in February at a Valentine’s party. I knew most everyone at the party so when I saw a good-looking guy across the room that I didn’t recognize he instantly caught my attention. I was in conversation with a group of people on one end of the room, and he was on the other. Our eyes met a few times and I wondered how I could get a chance to talk to him. I decided to provide a window by walking into the kitchen to get a glass of water. Daniel jumped at the chance to start a conversation and walked into the kitchen after me. No numbers were exchanged at the time but I felt sure I would see him again.

Over the next few months that I saw Daniel a few more times in group settings, but he never took me on a date. I wondered occasionally what had kept him from taking me out, but once I was announced as the next Mormon Bachelorette the thought drifted to the back of my mind. I assumed that most of my bachelors would be guys that I didn’t know – if I knew them then I figured they would have already asked me out by now if they were interested. But it seems that Daniel had just strongly begun considering taking me out right when I was announced. So, he decided to put his name in the running and applied for a date!

Daniel had lined up a very nice evening for us. We were headed out to Ahwatukee, a really nice part of the Phoenix Valley, to a home of a Bishopric member. The home is set at the highest elevation in the valley, and has only one other home that shares the street. It was absolutely stunning! We were treated to a beautiful Arizona sunset before we went inside to start dinner.

We were fortunate to have a big, wonderful kitchen to work in, but without the home owners around to show us where utensils and pans were, we had a bit of an adventure locating the items we needed. Eventually we found everything and made a mean spaghetti and fabulous salad. I was impressed with the thought Daniel had put into the meal – simple yet effective additions to a classic dinner. I always enjoy working on projects with the guys I date, so I had fun making the meal together. Daniel was laid back and gave me space to work on my parts of the meal while he worked on his, but was still ever present to help when needed. I liked it. And good thing that we agreed on liking our pasta a little more cooked than al dente:).

Once we had set out the completed meal, we enjoyed a pleasant conversation. Daniel is very intelligent and very well read, so it’s always interesting to learn from him through our discussions. Because I’ve been around Daniel before, I have a bit more insight into his experiences in dating than I’ve had with most of my bachelors. I think that Daniel truly knows what love is, and knows how to love, in a pure way. I have no doubt that he’ll be a great husband and father, who will look after the special people in his life. I kept thinking that maybe I could be that lucky girl someday. What an extremely attractive quality! And props to Daniel for helping with the dishes.

After dinner I was treated to a Drumstick ice cream cone out on the porch. It was such a perfect evening outside! A bit on the warm side, but with some ice cream and a good companion, it was excellent. Daniel had planned for us to play a game after dessert, but it was getting late so we opted to head home. I appreciated him being sensitive to the fact that I was already going off of small amounts of sleep and would benefit from getting home at a decent hour.

Daniel is somewhat opposite of me in several ways, with his calm, easy going nature. He’s very even keeled and I can tell that it would take a lot to rock his boat. At the same time, he’s driven in his schooling and future career in law. I would describe Daniel as having quite confidence, or subtle strength. He’s incredibly sincere and you wouldn’t ever have to question his motives. I felt very lucky to have been able to spend an evening with Daniel (finally!).

Thanks to the Petersen’s for being so kind to share their gorgeous home for our date! I had the privilege of meeting them at the end of the night and they were so wonderful – very personable and incredibly giving. I hope that when I’m in their stage of life I can be just a deeply in love as they are, and always giving back to others like they do.

20 comments:

Sara Borg said...

I thought he might be her first kiss. Dang.

Kelli said...

^^love it.
Daniel truly is a wonderful guy. He will make great husband and father. I've never doubted that for the time that I've known him. He's a catch ;)

J. Guest said...

Are you kidding, Sara? This is the most awkward and chemistry-free date so far. No wonder it was over in 7 minutes.

But he's sweet. So I like him.

Ashley said...

I agree...it seemed like the credits were actually longer than the date scenes. And half the dates scenes were just shots of the two cooking with their backs to each other. Was there nothing else interesting enough for them to highlight?

Melodys Voice said...

Ashley, I am with you on the camera shots, although most of the editing for all the dates has been more shots of everything other than Ashley and her date. I want to see more of them interacting on screen and not what is happening around them.

Uaintdown said...

no cutting board? kitchen failure. cut him ash.

Kim Messick said...

Nice view...

Valerie said...

I am getting bored by the dates. It is nice that the camera work is better this season, but I wish you would include a lot more dialogue and interaction. It makes me wonder if there is nothing more interesting going on? The only person I feel like I got to know was Tadd (hilarious, by the way). The rest of the guys and even Ashley.... I finish the videos and am left wondering what they're like.

Anonymous said...

I would LOVE to be able to see Ashley's face, as well as her dates' faces, when they are conversing. It would be great to see how they interact with each other again, like in past seasons. Love the music! :)

Cami said...

I agree that the videography isn't the best--one basic shot of holding one thing in focus then slowly focusing on a second thing--but it must be hard to give them privacy enough to open up and still have cameras in their faces. From the way Ashley wrote about Daniel and the simple fact that he's a local she previously knew, it is obvious that love is in the air! I'm still excited to see how this season ends for Ashley. I'm okay with the videos only being about 10 minutes or less because then I don't have to ignore my children to watch this show!

Our Family said...

I agree with the interaction, lack of this season.

Wards said...

Total kitchen FAIL with no cutting board. I could not help but cringe and bite my nails as I hung on to every moment that was shown with the knife directly on the counter-top. Lets just say it was painful to watch. This is one of the most basic things in the culinary world.

Where is that Fantasy Suite we've all been waiting for?

Kyle & Carissa said...

I agree, I would love to watch more date and less details of the settings of where they are or what their hands are doing. Those shots don't say much about how the date went.

WhitSariah said...

can anyone tell me the name of this song? pretty please?

Laceski said...

I agree that the videos could definitely better. Not that learning the molecular structure of spaghetti and completing a PhD in interior design *doesn't* tell you all sorts of fascinating things about these people, but seriously, if I see one more light fixture, I'm going to be able to fashion my own at home without any problems.

I certainly hope they had more interesting conversations than were showed, but if so, why aren't they included? Sigh.

michael. mindy. dane. said...

totally agree with ask josh. not much chemistry. he is super sweet though! they both are!

Julie Tomoser said...

Since everyone else is mentioning the camera work this season I will chime in too. I would love to see more conversation and facial shots. Seeing their body language and hearing their conversation would tell us how the date was going. As it is now I feel I have to read the notes from Ashley to know how the date went! We as listeners should not be so clueless, especially if we get to vote for one of the 8. Just my 2 cents...

The che said...

A date with Daniel? Wow! She is lucky--he is fun, solid, smart, and talented.

Megs said...

The songs are by Matt Weidauer - he's great! He plays a lot in Provo, UT @muse music. I'm pretty sure the songs are "Birds eye view" and "Aeroplane" you should check him out on itunes.

Tammy said...

i miss tadd