...save it for a rainy day.

sometimes, it only makes sense to go to in-n-out on a tuesday night

This week, I have felt really overwhelmed and bogged down by my school and the craziness that surrounds my office at this time of year (everyone all the sudden remembers that they need 20 service hours for their class. by next week. I actually welcome the company of fellow procrastinators).  As I left my house this morning, I was completely unaware that my zipper was down and two of my buttons on my blouse were undone (I'm sure people were curious as to my morning activities). I locked myself in the tunnel in the basement of the building I work in, which is one of the scariest things because there is a wide assortment of baby dolls, old posters, and a basic recreation of your grandmother's attic. I dipped my hair in my boss's oatmeal on accident - she reacted like a champ. I on the other hand was a hot mess.  Today was the kind of day I shouldn't have left the house unless I was sure I had Yoshi and a bunch of extra lives.

Then.

Jamie Taylor.  As he was shuffling between the two offices, he paused before walking out my door and turned to me. "Um, Christina, I'll make sure and be back before you leave today.  And if I'm not, will you please come to the other office before you go home? So I can give you a hug?"

I am swooning over that boy currently.  I am sure he is blessed with this innate ability to comfort those when our Heavenly Father cannot do so.  He is such a sweet little angel in my life today (is this getting too mooshy for you yet?) and even though he asked me for a "favor", it is the biggest blessing I could have asked for. 

And that's all. 

ox/C

chee-hoo.

 

And so, just like that, another year of the BYU Luau has come and gone (remember last year?) 

 

It was such a fun couple of nights of performing!  This is our third year of doing Luau (it kind of feels like bragging rights, being able to say that.  three whole years of luau. are you impressed? it would be even better if the other dancers/instructors recognized us after all this time. but we can't have it all) and it makes Winter semester so much more enjoyable.  I mean, except for the fact that you have to wake up at f i v e - t h i r t y am.  Yes, 5:30 in the morning. Yuck, right?  Which leads me to reflect on the beauty of sleep:

one::

Pillows are soft and they make your neck feel good. They are like beautiful hugs for your head. I have many pillows on my bed because I like to pretend I am royalty as I fall asleep. You can get super soft ones and just encase your body in them. You can also use them to build a fort, but unless you’re sleeping in that fort, that’s not relevant to this post.

two::
Dreaming has got to be the raddest thing out there. Like, I just want to say thank you, subconscious, for giving me a fake husband the other night.  It was really great to have him for a couple minutes.  And also, no, it wasn't that kind of dream, for the record.  It was just me and him, in this little house we had. That's all. And I loved it.

three::
It's kind of like what it must be like to be dead, but it's 100% temporary.  I mean, right?

four:: (this one is for the future, cause all I have right now is a twin size bed and a throw blankie to cuddle with)
Sleep is when you get to snuggle and cuddle and drool and cling to and generally use another person’s body like a jungle gym for your own comfort. And it’s totally sanctioned by love and stuff. They have to let you even if you are sweaty or heavy. It’s the rules of romance. Get to spoonin’, boo. I don’t have all night. (Jk, I do!)

Moving on from sleep and kind of more back on track of my Luau week, Mama Smith came into town, and her visit not only included fun family dinners and catching up, but house hunting as well. Eeeek!  Like, obvi, my vote is for the new houses down on the golf course by the lake, but who knows. That geriatric neighborhood of houses built in the 60's could just be calling their name. To each their own, right?

Then, the ladies of #29 decided to whip together a musical number really quick for St. Patrick's Day Sunday.  Perks of living with really talented ladies that are spontaneous.  And that have a few extra hours to spend in a practice room in the dorms on a Saturday night.  Needless to say, we had a lot of fun.  So we were feeling kind of on top of the world after singing in church (truth be told: I was shaking more while I was singing than when I was dancing in the Tahiti section. nothing like good old fashioned nerves!)  Then, per usual, we ran into some good friends in the hallway that suggested we have a roommate model shoot!

JOKES.  Of course the four of us are always the first to suggest model shoots.  Our friends just obliged to be on the other side of the camera.  Enjoy!

ox/C

checking in

I sat down to write the post this morning, hands posed on the keyboard excited to get to work... and I got nothing. My brain juice has been depleted (it's currently being REpleted with a giant glass of chocolate milk, but we're not gonna push it just yet).

I had quite the late one last night, staying up to finish last minute costume details for the luau, and I’m a little tired.  Perhaps contributing to my lack of anything to write about?  But all this luau business is really making me dream of summer a whole lot.   You know, the season where it’s not weird to go to a park alone and read a book slash people watch slash clear your mind. Slash obtain a minor sunburn.  It needs to be summer already so we can for-go showering because we are constantly in the pool, sans styling our hair cause rolling the windows down will do enough blow drying for us.  It needs to be summer so we can meet up with hot boys at dusk, get ice cream in the middle of the day, wear a swimsuit more often than actual underwear,  and pack all the boots away for good.  I’m just having a love affair with summer right now.  Sorry, winter. 

 

Anyways, last night was the Bachelor finale.  Jennae and I settled in for all three hours of Sean Lowe and his lovely ladies (I don’t want to offer any spoilers for those of you that missed the episode), complete with leave in conditioner, top buns, yoga pants, and face masks.  Sometimes, it’s just really fun being a single girl.  I really mean it. 

the joys of living.

Today I was having some brain problems. Nothing serious. Just some technical difficulties in the frontal lobe of my cerebrum [that's where you do all of your thinking you know]. Do I sound smart now, cause I use big words? Good. Because today, while I was having those brain problems, I was stumped as to what I should post about.  Then I realized, it was because nothing cool had happened to me lately.  At least, nothing that deserved to be shared with cyber world.  Not only did cool things NOT happen to me, the universe decided to play some big joke on me and make my life the most awkward thing, like, ever.  Here's why: 

Trying to tell my classmate something that's really awesome, like what I got on an exam. And I say, "Ohmygosh. Guess what I got?!" And he guesses a number that's infinitely higher than what I actually got. And I have to say, "Um. NO. Guess again, except lower this time." It's very anti-climactic.

This weird Provo wind. And having significantly more Marilyn Monroe moments this week than I would have liked. AKA, significantly more than zero.

The twitch in my left eye that comes around every time I try to curl my eyelashes. Honestly, most of my make-up routine in the morning is taken up by getting that eyeball to just calm down.

Going to the bathroom at the same time as a co-worker. In neighboring stalls.

Walking in a certain direction and then realizing that I actually need to be going the other direction … an awkward moment in and of itself. So what's the only logical reaction for a situation like this? Of course whipping out my cell phone, feigning an urgent text and furrowing my brow so that anyone who's watching me knows there's some kind of explanation for my abrupt 180. You know you do it.

Dropping an extra pair of pants in the middle of the hallway, having them be picked up by a kid from my office, and tossed to me amidst passerbys.  "Um, excuse me, but you dropped these....." You weird chick who is always carrying an extra pair of pants around. Accident prone perhaps? Wetting problem? Yes. All of us are thinking that's a yes.  They were just work out pants, ok?  In case I decided to work out later...

Leaving a message at work for a community partner to call me back … and then giving out my personal number. Or at least half of it. “Uhhh. Scratch that. I mean…” 
I'm really professional.

Answering my cell phone: “Center for Service and Learning. This is Christina.”

Reapplying my chapstick in the middle of the day, only to look down at the tube and discover the remains of my green smoothie. Am I the only one who actually tells people that they have crap on their face?

Someone asking me if I had handmade the sweater I was wearing. I mean, what is that?


So thanks, everyone who played a part in this weeks shenanigans.  Can't wait to see what will happen next week!  Oh, and also, that picture up above...? It has nothing to do with anything.  Other than the fact it's the only photographical evidence that I still exist. 




p.s. Have you heard of the book Bloom?  Mimi read it sometime last year and loved it, so I got it from the library but...you know how those things go.  My three weeks was up and the book hadn't been opened yet.  Woops?  But it's a book about a mama that gives birth to a little Down Syndrome baby and the journey their family went through.  So while I don't super have time to read the book, I found the blog post that preceded the book and I cried as I read it!  Go here to read it, you won't regret it. Also, isn't the mom gorgeous?? I hope I look like that when I'm having little babies.  

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