my future children are up for sale!

........

The beginning of 2014 didn't start perfectly - there were definitely some road bumps that set me back, and I almost feel like I have come to terms with the fact that I could potentially be poor forever (I won't deny the fact that I have looked into donating my eggs and also food stamps...? anyone else out there feeling destitute alongside me? cool). my name is christina + i have no money to offer + i may not ever, thx teacher salaries. hear me roar. 

Last night at FHE, my wonderful psuedo-husband (being FHE mom may or may not be the death of me + my happiness on Monday nights) gave a spiritual thought based on President Monson's talk Your Future Is As Bright As Your Faith. And I got to thinking about how we are rarely in stable, happy, successful, perfect situations. Heavenly Father doesn't want us to become too comfortable, because without change we could not perfect ourselves and progress. 2014 has taught me, so far, that it is okay to not have everything together all the time + to not alllllways be happy + not allllways be charming and fun. it's okay to not know how everything is going to turn out + to have my heart in vulnerable situations because then I prove to myself just how important my feelings are. And it's also great to take time to decide what's important to me, how I feel about certain things, and how I can show love to people that are different from me. 

Also, it's okay (I hope) to know the workers at sodalicious by name and base my validation on the words of phlebotomists who all think Mimi and I are just the greatest humans alive. 

Remember M? I guess he could be considered one of my roadbumps (I know that's dramatic but hello sorry I have a sensitive heart!) at the beginning of this year. But last night, I was invited over to his apartment to watch a movie, and I didn't think he would be there so I said sure! But of course, he was there, and it was actually great to chat with him. We sat in his kitchen for the whole movie and just laughed and chatted and it felt totally normal. It was also refreshing because I didn't feel any lingering feelings for him. When I got up to leave, he put on his shoes and walked me to my car. He asked if we could get in my car and talk for a minute (which, I mean, those are the scariest words to hear cause what did i do?? they're just like texts from parents that say "call me" or "how is your bank account?"). He apologized over and over again for not handling the situation very well and opened up a little to me about why he felt like we couldn't date. Next thing I know, he was telling me how he still liked me, and maybeeee in the future he could take me out on a date and we could try again? Likeeee maybe this weekend, if I wasn't busy? 

I have no idea where any of that came from, but I just told him to take his time to do whatever he needs to do, and we can hang out whenever he wants to! But obviously something didn't work the first time so let's not rush to make anything happen. 

It felt good to say to him, to say the least. And it was fun to bond with him again! 

And now, top snapchats of the week: 

Life is cool, guys. 

Also p.s. is there such a thing as a functioning relationship where both parties just decide they like each other and bam we'll work through all our problems together? Two of my roommates have something figured out so TEACH ME YOUR WAYS. 

ox/C

let go and let god. & McD.

These new filters on snapchat are heavensent, don't ya think?
Like, helloooo flawless skin that doesn't exist in the real world. I'm sure those I snap are grateful for them as well.
Yesterday, Mimi and I were dying at the snapchats that were coming our way during Sacrament meeting.

Ok. So this past week has been so random. As is most of my life, I think? Aside from the times I am in my apartment with Mimi in the greatest of all late-night ensembles (read: blue sweat pants from sophomore year with one of my three favorite t-shirts sans bra), chatting and laughing the night away, I find myself in the most random of situations. I thrive off of these spontaneous maybe i'll never see these people again yes let's please all try to squeeze 9 of us in a booth because i love cuddling during my all-you-can-eat meal! Where was I going with all of this? 

Oh yeah! Spontaneous! I feel like I owe it to my posterity + the nights where I am just sitting in my apartment in the sexiest of all get-ups to document some of these spur of the moment activities I engage in.

:: last wednesday, mimi and i joined our jeffy-boy at pizza pie cafe. along with about 254 more of his friends. at one booth. NO I'M NOT BITTER i just like my space? i think had i known that shortly after eating all those carbs (pasta included! radiatore with red pepper tomato sauce please!) i would be going hot tubbing, i would have re-thought my meal choice. BUT you win some you lose some. whatever that means in this situation. but mimi brought me along to her hot tubbing group, after which i spent a couple hours chatting with one of the boys on facebook. after some playful banter and over-the-top flirting, i got out of bed, put my contacts back in and smeared some coverup on my face reallll quick so I could join him on a rendezvous to mcdonald's. we ended up talking in his parking lot for an hour after that and he quickly became one of my new favorite people.

:: thursday night, mimi and i curled up on her bed for the better part of 3 hours to eat an entire sleeve of cookie dough and watch frozen (disregard the fact that it was most likely illegal to be doing so) and it was lovely. i then met up with mcdonald's boy again to watch the way, way back. because of the movie and the boy, it was one of the funniest slash funnest slash most validating of nights. keep telling me nice things! thanks!

:: on friday night, mimi and i again found ourselves asleep on her bed in the middle of the afternoon, with a welcome visit by taylor who stuck around long enough to pick out my outfit for me. cool. mimi and i then joined devin and McD (it's staying) for gopro adventures, texas roadhouse (WHAT'S UP we sat at the bar - i'm just doing all sorts of illegal stuff these days!) and the saratov approach. which i would give a very enthusiastic one thumb up!

:: saturday morning, i spent it shopping for a bridal shower gift. this go-around was trickier than most because it was a gift for my cousin, meaning my aunts and cousins and all the elderly women they've collected as friends along the way would be seeing this gift. but i quickly settled on THE cutest pair of panties (barfing that i just said that) and all was well.

:: yesterday, during church, the most embarrassing of all embarrassing moments occurred. we were sitting in sunday school and i volunteered to read some verses. it sounds good so far but it quickly went downhill.  as i was reading about the fall of adam and eve in moses chapter 4, what i was supposed to read was "Because thou has hearkened unto the voice of they wife, and hast eaten of the fruit of the tree..." but what i actually read was "Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the fruit of they wife..." ... it's cool guys i'll just go jump off a cliff.
but actually, everyone was cracking up and i was crying i was laughing so hard. i kept getting questions throughout the day like, "so what version of the scriptures do you have?"

:: last night, i caught up on all sorts of trending media (the grammy's, sean+catherine wedding, and loads of basketball games) as McD sat on his couch and giggled+guffawed the night away.

That was such a novel. Applause to you if you made it to the end. And if you didn't make it to this point, I don't even blame you a little bit.

just remember: let go and let god. 

angel down

Mama Smith had surgery. On her ear.

Do you know what this means?

She, depending on her recovery over the next few weeks, may be able to have a conversation that isn't 90% made up of "what?"  Or, the more humorous communication technique, trying to guess what someone said.

It's a good day.

I visited her in post-op yesterday and she looked so little and...not deaf? Maybe I was making that up? Regardless, Pammy Sue is currently in recovery mode which means lots of sleep and lots of texts saying "sorry for burping" and "i have tears in my eyes." So for this week, that little angel is out of commission.

Hang in there, mama!

In other news, last night was enjoyed at the Covey Center to watch Sport Court do her dance thang.  It was so fun, she's so talented! And all the little girls she instructs are darling.  There was one dance with three infants (I kid you not, I'm not even sure these little girls even know their own names yet) dressed in yellow, dancing to Rubber Ducky.  Whether it was intentional or not, the dance was only choreographed for and performed by two of the three girls.  Meaning, the third girl stood on the side waving while her two friends(?) did ring around the rosy together.  Like, we've all been there, third girl. It's cool.
Mimi and I couldn't stop talking about how much we want to learn a dance/song/something we can show off at parties. Or, you know, in our apartment.

Then I attended the random of most random chocolate milk parties last night with Jake&co. (sidenote:  I love the undiscovered funny people of Provo, they're so under appreciated yet I love them all the more for it) and Kailey, where we sat in a circle and talked about twerking and Talk Dirty way too much. 

Oh how I'm loving 2014. So many good things about it.
Especially this - omg I would diiiieeee if someone did this for me.

Peace.

ox/C

this just in...

For the past few months, I have said countless times that I want to go to NYC this year. Well.

I'm going.

I'm going to New York City!

I had air miles that were expiring at the end of this month, so last night I called the airlines to see what my options were. Next thing I know, I was booking a flight for Valentine's Day (hellooooo I hope my Tom Hanks shows up at the top of the Empire State Building on V-Day!).

Can you believe it?? My brother just sent an email out to the family saying:

 "This is the view from my window right now.  Excited to have Chrissy come out!"

Yikes. I'm the luckiest girl alive.  

My Pinterest has suddenly exploded with secret pin boards of places I want to visit, clothes I want to buy, shows I want to see, etc. This city is a favorite of mine (and everyone's) and I just can't get enough of it.  

Concrete jungle, here I come!

Well!  Another Y-Serve Retreat has come and gone and I am alllllmost positive I have never been asked so many questions about my dating life before. 

When someone asks me if I'm single: 

Almost always. 

When engaged people tell me "your time will come!". Like, maybe, maybe not. Maybe screw yourself. Jokes! But, let it serve as a lesson to myself that when and if the day comes that I find myself engaged, I will not elicit my advice onto the poor, single people of the world. Cause just no. 

BUT! Other than becoming significantly more aware of how single I was, it was a great weekend. I spent it with two other office assistants and we had such. a good. time. 

There's something about work friends, ya know? They inevitably end up hearing about all your problems, the new person your ex is dating, and a smorgasbord of other embarrassing things you just need someone to vent to to get through the day. You sometimes do get carried away in your conversations and realize you've gone a solid part of the day just talking about your lives and not doing work but I mean, oops?

The three of us spent our time setting up tables and chairs, cooking, and cleaning. It was so fulfilling, especially when some of the program directors would come into the kitchen, pull up a barstool and peel potatoes with us, and just chat. I felt like a mom! It was so fun. And yes, while we didn't get a lot of sleep (thus the tired eyes and oily hair so sorry), it was worth all the bonding. And many, many rounds of head bands. 

See video below. I can't stop playing.  

[stacey] doing dishes!

crowding around the doors to listen to the end of the morning devo. i thiiiiink we all fell asleep shortly after this pic? 

just always laughing. 

i love these people. 

"the moms"

And now presenting Headbands...

And now onto MLK Jr. day! Hooray for sleeping in.

ox/C

pic or it didn't happen.

So normally, because I am my mother's daughter, I take pictures of every breathing moment of my life. Which, I realize, should be every moment of my life.
But lately I have kept myself so busy going from place to place that I haven't even thought to whip out the camera and document. 

Like, would you even believe me if I told you that I went indoor surfing last week with minimal injury, then went on to cuddle (with a boy!) (like, duh) while watching Mud at 2 am? No, probably not, because I don't have pictures.

Or, that I have actually, for maybe the first time in my life (after realizing that children in Ethiopia were probably eating better balanced meals than I was), made myself at home in the kitchen and have cooked a meal for myself almost everyday? Including the time, just days after hashing out our failed "relationship", M randomly came over with his roommates to eat lasagna with me on Sunday? No, there is no proof of that actually happening, so did it really? I kind of wish it didn't. 

Or the 2 hours I spent on Pangaea bed at Kailey's as we bonded and ate frozen grapes and talked about life (read: boys). 

Or the 2 hour bath Mimi and I took last night IN SWIMSUITS. All the bubbles had dissolved and yet we still had so much to talk about. 
But maybe it's best that there are no pictures of this. I think you would all just feel weird.

Or, after getting home from bonding with friends the other night, receiving great [free] advice from my life coaches Mimi and Devin as we all laid around for a couple hours (sorry to crash the party!)

Or the lunch I had at Chick-fil-a yesterday with two of my favorite boys who just make me feel awesome about myself.  But seriously. I've never laughed so hard or smiled so much (even though I had food in my teeth cool guys). It has been months since we've all been together, and it brought back seriously good memories of washington and late night chats at my apartment.

These, among other things, are the recent happenings of my life that I really wish I had pictures of because for all you know I could be lying about it all (except I would have to be the lamest person alive if I lied about my life and this is all I came up with -__-).

Here are some pictures I have, although they are pretty irrelevant and without artistic appeal:

+ "ride or die".  mimi, the hand-lettering master, indulged the birthday boy devin by giving him a pre-surfing tat. no ragrets, amirite?
+ post-surfing sonic run. i am COMPLETELY embarrassed by how white/wide my legs are but hey! let's move on, yeah?
+ mimi and i went to chipotle on saturday (seriously, those were our only plans) so we made a trip out of it and stopped in at ikea. "honey, don't be alarmed, but there's an asian family in our kitchen." 500 days of summer? anyone? iloveyou joseph gordon-levitt
+ our friend phil texted us and told us he had a show at the moxie lounge! maybe we went just so we could say we went to the moxie lounge and somehow that makes us cool? but also, those boys are GOOD. like, constant swooning kind of good.

+ more moxie lounge pics. cool?

 + aaaaaaand a compilation of the top snapchats i've received this week. what do you guys do in your free time?

I'm off for a work retreat tonight! YAY for long weekend and lots of sleeping in!

ox/C

p.s. I am in need of a fake boyfriend (this is real). ATTN: If you are single, good looking (or at least semi-) AND in the area, can I hire you? Thanks! I pay in compliments and attention.

kevin durant chews gum + jon schmidt is a jazz fan

Hello hello! Happy 2014! I rung in the new year in Park City with hot tubbing, sparklers, cuddles, and a kiss (yes! a kiss! at midnight! I was beginning to think that was folklore). Oh, and a scary movie. Let's just not talk about any of that.

Cause a pretty cool alternative to watching scary movies is
going to bed knowing you won't have cold sweats and night
traumas, don't you think?

Onwards!

Yesterday, my dad texted me and offered me two tickets to a Jazz game, so I called Mimi and told her "we have plans tonight! also what color are the jazz?"  and two hours later we were settling into our [row 7] seats. Subtle, right?  We had the hardest time deciding which team we were going to root for because my dad informed us that one of the best players in the NBA was playing on the opposing team, Oklahoma City. So. Were we loyal Utahns, or Kevin Durant followers? Fortunately, we chose to be faithful Jazz/Gordon Hayward fans and cheered our dear Jazzers onto a nail-biting (ish) win.

Around half time, this distinguished looking red-head sat down in front of us, and consequently, people flocked to him. I mean it. Like, shaking his hand and asking to take pictures with him and who the heck is he??  Mimi and I could not figure it out - we both texted our dads this picture to see if they knew who this assumed dignitary was. We googled "famous red heads of utah" and the like to see if anything came up.

Nothing did.

Then, after some eavesdropping and maybeee a little bit of sleuthing (checking out the name on his credit card) we figured out who he was.

JON SCHMIDT. OMG what do we do? Start humming Waterfall in his ear? Ask him to play at our next ward activity? What what what??

While the famed pianist was in front of us, we had nothing but the most die-hard fans to the left of us. Complete with their wool jazz sweaters and megaphones with sirens. They really made our game-going experience ideal.

I think by the end of the game, we were very pleased with the fact that we boo'd a sufficient amount, clapped at all the right times, and picked up on the player's little quirks (fact: kevin durant chews gum during the game; gordon hayward is bow-legged, has a twin, and is not lds BUT i've always been a flirt-to-convert kinda gal).

So, I think it's fair to say that we are the Jazz's newest fans. As long as they keep us entertained with fans that are Steve Buscemi-look-a-likes who wave rubber chickens around and food vendors that offer me food that they don't, in fact, sell, we will keep coming back.

ox/C