five things (don't hate me)

Remember when everyone was posting those"five things" on instagram, and everyone else (me included) hated on it because it was blowing up our feed slash we were probably somewhat bitter we weren't tagged early on enough to do it and still be considered cool?  Was that just one long run on sentence that no one understood? Kk great.  Well here's the thing.  Even those of us that vocalized how dumb we thought it was secretly wanted to do it.  Back me up.  Or was I really the only one with conflicting thoughts concerning this?  Validate me, please.

So without further ado (and lack of anything better to write about because between you and me, all I did last night was laundry and write emails), here are things you probably never knew about me or will never need to know, but may make you decide how you really feel about me:

one::
I love dark chocolate more than almost anything, including milk chocolate.  Not only do I feel more sophisticated and healthy (? did i make that one up?) when I eat it, I prefer the taste of it.  Not to mention, there's always a surplus of dark chocolate at grocery stores cause no one wants it? And I'm ok with that.  I can be clean up crew.  With that being said, while I like my chocolate relatively milk-free, I prefer drinking milk to water...or anything, really.  So now you know my strange dairy preferences and eating habits.  From now on, it's safe to assume that I am at home eating chocolate [dark] and drinking milk.

two::
Elephants make me emotional.  Most things make me emotional, but especially elephants.  I cried during Water for Elephants when I first saw Rosie (and countless times after that), I teared up when I found an elephant necklace of my very own, I cried when Mimi showed me her pictures and videos of the elephants she bonded with in Thailand...it's just a thing I do.  And I have zero shame, because elephants deserve those tears!  They are the most darling animals in the world.  Oh, I get giddy in Despicable Me when the shrink ray shrinks the elephant.  I think I tried looking into mini-elephants after that movie.  Do you remember Kristen Bell's reaction to the sloth her husband bought her? I have all too similar feelings towards elephants.

three::
I used to love spiders.  Growing up with all boys, I was accustomed to sharing a room with the snake tank and collecting rolie-polies and all those gross things that leave me with no other option other than nausea when I think too hard about it.  Or think about it at all.  I used to let daddy-long-legs crawl up my arm and I would build little fortresses with lava rocks (you know, those red clumpy things that basically destroy your feet if you don't wear shoes)for all the spiders I found.  Cue hurling.  Cause like, seriously, let's all just take a moment and be thankful that spiders don't fly. Or else.

four::
If I still owned barbies, I would FOR SURE still play with them.  At least dress them up and put them into families.  Barbies were my go-to reward.  You know, like, if I didn't miss piano lessons for a whole long time, or I got 100 stars on my chore sheet, etc.  I learned many tactics as to how I could earn a new barbie: "Hi mom.  Will you give me a really big chore around the house so I can maybe get a barbie afterwards?"  Who cares if I was dirty, I was getting a barbie.  Sometimes I still find myself in the barbie aisle, or a sudden urge to stop in at Toys R Us.  And sorry if this is weird?  Idk. You guys, you made it to number four, please don't give up on my now just based on my barbie obsession.  We're doing great so far.

five::
Speaking of chores, one summer when I was 7, I decided I wanted a cat.  My parents took me to the pet store to look at kittens and I just about died from excitement.  It was beyond my imagination that I could own a living, breathing, furry thing that walked around and purred and did other cute things.  So my parents told me that if I really wanted her, I had to buy her myself.  So I said, duh.  After what felt like weeks of doing horrible jobs around the house and elsewhere, I went back to the pet store with $45 to buy that dang cat and a bag of food.  I picked a tiny little black one that was mid-sleep when plucked from the cage.  And things went downhill from there.  I don't know what happened - maybe I squeezed her too tight on the ride home, maybe she hated that she was named Binky (I was seven, guys), or that my brothers shamelessly tormented her until I was in tears.  Whatever it was, t h a t  c a t  h a t e s   m e.  She hates most people, for that matter.  She's going on 12 years like a champ though, considering the fact that I had to give up the majority of my Christmas presents one year just so she could have tinsel removed from her intestine.  I hope she realizes just how much $800 on my part and zero gratitude on her part has cost my heart.

I hope this post inspired you to still be me friend.

ox/C

justification.

Last week, I was the most productive I have ever remembered myself being (which is sad considering that most students are THAT DEDICATED all the time, but that's totally beside the point).  I was in the library every night last week, and squeezing in studying and assignments whenever I could. I took three midterms and pretty much experienced elation with each and every score that came in. It was just a good week and everyone should take a moment of silence to honor it.  Because we all know it will most likely NOT occur again anytime soon.

Saturday morning, after the 6-10am luau practice (you guys please please p l e a s e come to the byu luau. it will be the most enjoyable experience you've ever had.  women put oil all over their bodies and dance while audience members walk up on stage and stick money to their bodies.  i DID say this was the luau and not a gentleman's club, right?), I hurried home for a bowl of cereal and a couple strokes of deodorant before heading back up to campus with Mimi to study and take an exam.  You caught the part that this was a Saturday, right? Maybe this is nothing to be shocked over.  Maybe to those of you reading this, that's just a normal Saturday.  If that's the case, good for you. And I'm really sorry about that.

As I was walking out of the testing center, I had this really weird feeling.  The i can do anything i want and my parents can't get mad at me cause i'm on the road to straight a's and i just spent an entire saturday on campus.  Really though.  Justification at it's finest, folks.  If someone were to have even slightly hinted at a road trip, I would have been packed and ready to go in seconds.  Productivity really reaps some fine results, I'm learning!  Maybe I should spend more time in the library.  So here's a thumbs up to you, Christina.  You're nearing 3 years as a student and finally grasping some pretty vital concepts.  

Overall it was a really great weekend (obvi).  Friday night was a relaxing one.  Jennae and I went to the dollar theatre to see Breaking Dawn (which we LOVE so haters back off).  **sidenote: I am such a hypocrite at movie theatres.  And I don't even care.  But Jennae and I (ok mostly I) were cheering, laughing, crying, rolling our eyes, fist pumping, high five-ing, hugging, dancing (I'll leave it up to you to decide which of those things we actually did inside that theatre) at every twist and turn in the movie.  But the second someone three rows up turned to whisper something to their neighbor, my blood started boiling.  Like, come on people, you can talk all you want after the movie.  Please don't ruin this experience for the rest of us.  Ok done **

Saturday night, we went to the ice arena for a Stake activity and it was so much fun.  After only a few minutes on the ice, we got over it and decided we were meant for bigger and better things.  Actually, the ice hadn't been cleaned in at least 72 days, and I'm pretty sure there were less people at Woodstock than were on the rink, so, yeah...bigger and better things.  We headed upstairs to make our debut at the dance party.  Now, J and M are both dancers.  They grew up dancing. It's so natural to them.  After a year of ballet and 2 years of gymnastics, I was well aware of my lack in the dance arena.  But I really love dancing.  Especially when we have our own corner at dance parties and we could care less who sees us doing what.  Cause we're really fun[ny].  It was just a fun night full of laughter and line dancing and slow grinds and unexpected visitors. 

mini freshman year reunion (families are forever)

Sunday was really great.  When my roommates and I first moved into our ward, I was not convinced we belonged.  But these past few months, after any ward social/function, we can't all help but talk about how much we love our ward!  You guys! We have friends! That think we're funny! And like to be around us!  This is great!  I had this super overwhelming feeling of happiness as I was sitting in Relief Society and saw so many smiling faces.  And realized just how much I loved these people.  That afternoon, I got picked up by A and his posse of boys and their dates to go up to an Oscar's party his brother was throwing as some fancy cabin.  That we thought was in Heber.  Only after we arrived in Heber did we realize it was an hour in the opposite direction.  Woops? Nothing like a mini road trip to really bond a group together.  Amidst complaints from the trunk and tinder horror stories, we somehow made it to our party and had a really great time.  Things just can't go wrong when you have the opportunity to get dressed up and go out with a boy and bond with some really great people over Jennifer Lawrence eating it and Seth McFarlane being the literal worst host ever.  If you're going to be completely filthy, at least make me laugh. Don't be filthy just for filthy's sake.  Better luck next time, Stewie Griffin.

ox/C

the walking dead + other mainstream habits

I am very impressionable.  I'm an avid blog reader, YouTuber, people watcher, and tend to pick up whatever it is that society is doing that I deem cool (note: what I deem cool, not what is actually cool - there's really a huge difference between the two, and if you know me, you know that's true).

I believe strongly that in a few years, my generation will be referred to as the Hipster generation.  Based on the assumption that blogger will still be a thing and my kids will be semi-interested in my life, let me delve into this.  h i p s t e r is not an easy word to define.  Irony sets in really fast when you have a person that tries their hardest to veer from whatever is mainstream, and that attracts certain other peoples (aka my entire university) to that anti-maintsream lifestyle.  Does that not make whatever trend they're trying to test on society the very definition of mainstream? So to those of you that sport your Ray Bans while cruising on your bike with skinny tires, simultaneously instagramming your life for all one million followers you have, keep it up!  Just please accept and love me even when I'm wearing an outfit that is 100% NOT thrifted. And while all the Neff beanies and oxfords look great on you, I will continue to shop at Target and dream of having as much money as you must have to support your homeless-chic look (this is starting to sound like I'm hating on hipsters. I'm not, I promise.  I just don't know how to be one). So here are some reasons as to why I am okay with not living my life as a hipster:

i enjoy shopping at popular franchises.

While I love thrift stores (see last post) and am found frequenting DI when in need of a costume (hipsters are collectively gasping at that statement), I can't successfully t h r i f t  s h o p.  I am too hooked on ease - you know, ordering something from Amazon or running to Gap for a sweater.  Can I redeem myself by assuring you that I occasionally shop at Urban Outfitters and drool over Anthro? I really applaud those people that come away from those shops having hit jackpot, but I will probably do so wearing a sweater from Forever 21 and TOMS, and I hope we can still be friends and hold hands.

i like to watch whatever is popular.

Sure, this absolutely makes me a follower and let's not focus on how much time I actually spend on hulu.com, because THAT'S NOT THE POINT.  The point is, this weekend, I had finally had enough just hearing about The Walking Dead...I had to see for myself what all this hype was about.  I know I'm only 3 seasons behind, but gosh dang it IT WAS WORTH IT because EVERYONE IS WATCHING IT so there.  I will go see anything Nicholas Sparks, I've seen all the Twilight's, and Sundance sounds more of a hassle and an event made for instagram rather than an enjoyable cultural experience.

i am actually blind. 

It would be illegal for me to drive without contacts.  And yes, I prefer contacts to glasses because they're easy and I am an actual clinically blind disaster without them.  Glasses have a time and place - at night, and when I'm sick.  Or when I'm out of contacts.  Let me set the record straight that I have often thought that guys look better with glasses, and it's 100 times more attractive when they are wearing them for actual use and not as a fashion statement.  But I do not own Ray Ban's or any sort of vintage glasses, especially not just for fashion's sake.

i don't really want to bike all over God's green earth.  

I own a bike - a very old (1 hipster point) mountain bike (bajillion negative hipster points) that I used a few times last summer.  I'm all for getting rides to and from...everywhere.  I like convenience and not sweating through my clothes in the summer or, even worse, experiencing that weird moment where it's freezing outside and the sweat your body is stupidly producing is freezing you to death. What...why would I ride a bike?  Maybe I am an environmental criminal, but I see zero point in riding a bike unless it's for a short cruise around the park. Preferably with a boy. And a picnic basket. That he's carrying. And trying to lock those things up? Literally takes me 28 minutes.  It takes 2 seconds to lock my car.  End of discussion.

Knowing all this about me, I really hope you can still respect my lifestyle.  And if any of you hipsters feel like taking a vacation, come see me. We can go to McDonald's in our sweats and come back to watch the Kardashian's on my TV, and I promise to keep you off Instagram for the evening. And now I have mentioned the Kardashians twice in the past...three blog posts.  That says more about my lifestyle than any of the above comments.

Moving on, here are some pictures that may or may not make your day:

double date to salt lake on the front runner! we gave valentine's to the homeless in pioneer park/downtown slc.  one woman - kylina - gave us sex tips for our first night as lovers.  it was our second date.  

some basic snapchat artwork on valentine's day. 

cubby's (favorite)!

mafia at the boy's.  

we bonded a lot. thnks for the mmries, bleu. 

tortilla bar! ok, so i eat a lot. 

one too many selfies in the library.

have a safe weekend!

ox/C

little invalid

I'm still a sick little missy.  Summer, come quicker? Like, please? 

Otherwise, life is pretty great.  Last weekend started off with a fun afternoon in SLC with this girl, where we perused around the grandeur that is City Creek, then decided our budget couldn't handle it so we continued onward to some thrifty thrift shops (cue Macklemore).  If ever in Salt Lake, please check out Decades.  You may want to bring a bottle of Febreze  gas mask with you because the smell of your grandpa's clothes isn't really enough to make your day.

Then we peeled our tired bodies out of bed for Luau practice (yay! Luau is so close) on Saturday morning and afterwards, treated ourselves to a delicious french toast breakfast accompanied by some Patrick Swayze and Dirty Dancing for our trouble. 

went to see warm bodies with this lady from home!

It turned out to be a pretty great weekend in which I didn't get any healthier, but definitely had a lot of fun.

Until next time!

ox/C

it's about time.

This week it all caught up to me: the sicknesses I just can't seem to get over (I trusted you, 24-hour Sudafed), the money I have wasted on said sickness by indulging in too many Cold Busters from Jamba (I stick by the fact that Jamba IS, in fact, healthy...even though the drinks contain more sugar than the sodas I swore off?), the upcoming week of neverending assignments in classes I have not [mentally] attended for a while now, my seemingly neverending pile of laundry which contributes to my desperately bare closet.
The stars have not seemed to be in line this semester.  Then, last night as I was constructing a blog post by sifting through pictures of the year thus far, I realized that I had an overwhelming amount of things to be grateful for!  Like, snap out of it, Tina.

I have an absurd amount of love for my job.  The people, the work I do, the money...?  That last one is a definite win.  At the beginning of the semester, I was asked to go to a weekend retreat with all the student leaders and a few co-workers, and it was way too much fun! 

I have some of the raddest friends in Utah County.  We've been told that we are too supportive of each other (is that even a real thing??), but really, all we do is always strive to be nice people that others want to be around. If that sounds lame to you, then...sorry. You're not invited to watch our TV show (but really, why aren't we filmed every second of every day?)

My kick-a fam, that is moving to Provo! Back in December, my dad got a job here in Provo and it's just been grand (I debated on whether to tell you about how my dad picks me up sometimes in the morning to drive me to work, but then decided you would maybe, definitely judge me. But I told you anyways? So there's that. I'm a college co-ed that still gets dropped off by her father.)

The really great guy that I have gone out with a few times this semester. Who knows what will come of it (but really, what will come of it? I’m dying to know, too), but I am just going to take things a day at a time.  Or, as our girl Kimmy K would say, Let go, and let God. Wisdom comes from the most mysterious places sometimes (I really recommend E! Network for infinite words of advice). 

So. With all that said, enjoy these Top Pictures of 2013, according to Chrissy:

first sunday - matching was unintentional

my jeffrey boy came home!

daddy dates = free meal (and good bonding, obvi)

what i spend a good portion of a friday night doing...

wash hut is surprisingly more fun than you'd think!

when all my roommates leave me, i indulge in some Cubby's (recommend!) and throw a pity party on the floor. are you getting sick of me yet?

the ice rink that took over the flatland of Provo definitely didn't contribute to a good fashion day

this lil lady and i just doing our thang (you would be happy too if you had matching pajamas and had taken your bra off)

MexSal roomie bonding!

post-date debriefing at Sammy's!

the twins went thrift shopping!

popping tags...

dating fireside > superbowl. although i was a little disappointed in how many dates we weren't asked on afterwards (aka, zero)

the night we were positive we were going to find our husbands at the creamery, so we got cute. then all we saw were freshman. girls. so that didn't work.

don't worry. i didn't actually send it.  i didn't even write it.

   So there you have it. 

ox/C

p.s. If you, or anyone you know, are a videographer in any way, please contact me. We think we are really funny and are pretty interested in joining our sisters the Kardashians up on the big screen. We're sick of our hilarity being confined to videos on photobooth. 

inconsistent + modeling

Posting once every few months is acceptable, right? Ok, thanks. 

A lot has been going on over here in Iceland Provo, but for now, these pictures will keep us all happy!  Pictures today, post tomorrow. Just keep a few things in mind:

I'm still trying to warm up from this day.  That was 3 weeks ago. 

My roommates are babes.