[future titles].

well.....it's started. once i start watching the "real housewives of...." (orange county, atlanta, new jersey, beverly hills...take your pick) it might be time to go back to school. watching these shows in marathon format (because apparently that's the only fashion they are shown in) is about to undo all 14.5 years of my schooling. i've come to the conclusion that A) these women act like they are 16 and are still in high school and B) i don't EVER want to become one of them. someone saying something insulting about you on social networking is NOT the end of the world. i'm not 100% sure that specimens of this caliber should be able to reproduce....
i'm gonna get off the reality-tv-shows-boat and switch subjects. i was thinking about something interesting to blog about, and i as i looked through my fellow bloggers posts, i have realized i took ZERO pictures during christmas eve/christmas/any other festivities [linds ;)] i am not A) married, or B) have children [you know who you are ;)] 
so.....after some time deliberating on something relatively exciting to write about, i've come up with jack......squat. 


here is my request from you: what should i write about? do you have any questions i should answer? something i should not write about?




feel free to voice your opinion......actually, it's encouraged :)

why i hate the mall.

i hate the mall. especially around christmas time.


as i sit here sipping eggnog, listening to mariah carey belt out "all i want for christmas is you" (for all of you that are annoyed with that song....i only have three more days to listen to it. so get over it) i am simply happy i am not at the mall. or at any retailer, for that matter. why? let's explore my reasoning.
today, i had a $10-off coupon to a store in the mall that shall remain un-named expiring December 24th. since i'm such a sucker for deals, i decided i'd better use it quick. since the obligatory 4-days-before-christmas-and-i-haven't-bought-any-presents panic settles in to most consumers, it took me 15 minutes to find a parking spot. and of course said store is in the exact MIDDLE of the mall, preventing me from ducking in and getting out as fast as possible......


i should preface this story by describing what i looked like : boots, leggings, and oversized sweatshirt (because i'm too lazy for real pants), zero makeup, and my wet hair tied in a giant knot on the top of my head. it was sunny, so i also had my sunglasses on. i started out wearing them in the mall, before i caught my reflection and realized how much i hate it when people wear their sunglasses inside. especially in the winter. sunglasses off, and makeup-less-face exposed, i made a pit stop in old navy (which should NOT be in the mall.....but that's a post for a different day) and then was on to my target destination. since this is olympia, and everyone and their mom is at the mall, i just knew i'd run into someone i knew. in order to avoid awkward interactions with people from high school whose names i don't remember, i was anxious to get to where i had to be. so anxious that i went the opposite way of where i was supposed to go from old navy, only to make a 180, narrowly missing several small children in the process(*&)*&#$!!!!) so i went the other (and right) direction and found my way into the store. there were about 5x more people in there as there should have been, making it impossible to shop leisurely. leisurely. what a joke. as i journeyed through the store, i felt terrible for all the boyfriends/husbands that were dragged into not only shopping at christmas (which NO straight man enjoys), but shopping at a women's lingerie store. (have you guessed what store by now?) for someone as indecisive as me, this was pure chaos. i guess all of the people stressing me out made me decisive. maybe that's not a bad thing....


let's discuss another reason why i hate the mall. two words: SLOW WALKERS. i realize i am not the most patient person in the world, but come on. these people walk at the slowest pace possible. and spread out to form a barricade of idiots that have no purpose or intention of going into a store anytime soon, and are 100% oblivious to anyone around them. then, finally when they realize "oh, there is someone behind me" they give you the look of death that says "how dare you!" unfortunately, these people are found on BOTH sides of the mall. another thing i hate. it's like a street, people. this begs the question; DO ANY OF YOU HAVE A DRIVER'S LICENSE?!!! walk on the RIGHT sight of the mall!!!!! maybe it's just me who believes in that philosophy......or maybe not.


mission accomplished.
i was out of there.....walking as fast as possible with my head down.
and i didn't run into anyone i knew.
christmas miracles do happen!

olympia in pictures.

in an effort to get a decent picture of my brother and i for our christmas card, my mother took us downtown to percival landing on monday. we figured with the scenic background, at least it would look half-way decent ;) if we're friends on FB (which i sure hope we would be if you're reading this.....), you've seen most of these.....but i threw in a few extras for you, my loyal blog readers. we ended up choosing the third shot for the christmas card.

the rest are taken various places around percival landing & the capital. enjoy the beauty (and uniqueness) of olympia:

a vent of sorts.

things that are currently irritating me at the moment.........

• boredom. and the fact that not even a week into winter break, i have already finished the season of Friends that i borrowed
• slow walkers/middle-school-mall-rats at the mall. actually.....the mall period. ESPECIALLY around the holidays.
• my addiction to eggnog. friends, this is getting serious.....
• couples. all of them. 
• the fact that i physically cannot go to sleep before 2am. thanks a lot, college.

that's all for now.....i'm off to catch the second showing of conan o'brien.....

a festivus for the rest of us.

as promised, here are a few snapshots of all the fun thing i did last week/weekend that were NON-study related.....do enjoy.

THURSDAY:[peets coffee & tea w/alyssa]

 hahaha

 our serious FINALS faces.

we <3 peets.

FRIDAY: [tradition]

 "bubbly, anyone??"

 alyssa, bekah, & I

 half of 1st hill + daniel!

beks & I with "gingy" 

 ROOMMATE PICTURE.

i drank that bottle myself. lauren photobombed this...

SATURDAY: [1W floor reunion at red robin!]

i love these ladies with all of my heart.

in addition, we had an elf christmas party on my floor, and a snoopy christmas for hill & moyer hall. if i can fit that much christmas within such a small frame of time, i can't wait for the next few weeks. it's the most wonderful time of the year ;)

FINISHED.

ladies & gentlemen -
the quarter is DONE.
i truly cannot express my joy......
i keep worrying about my finals, but i can't. i did the best i could. it's out of my hands.
so for now; i hope for the best, and take this as a learning experience and an opportunity to do better next quarter.




i can't wait to do NOTHING (school-related) for one month.
now my christmas can start :)


ps: pictures to come of all of the non-studying-related fun things i've done lately ;)

i'm alive....

......but hardly.


to sum it up:


[this week]:
i've gone to bed at 2:30am or later every night.
i've cried three separate times.
i am now sick, you can probably guess why.
my car alarm has gone off 4 TIMES, all of which i have been inside during. for no apparent reason. awesome.
last night for dinner, i had a latte, a chicken nugget, and raisinettes.
i have considered dropping out and joining the circus more than once.


at this point, i cannot see the light at the end of the tunnel.


dear finals; i hope you die a PAINFUL and slow death.


TUESDAY COME SOON.

it's 2:04am and i'm not in bed.

it's dead DEATH week......aka the week before finals where EVERY SINGLE ASSIGNMENT is due within 5 days as well as presentations and tests (as if finals weren't cruel enough...)


for the last 3 hours i've been working on our fashion forecasting project. 
7 pages + 3 pages of images = death. (that seems to be a recurring theme.....)


i volunteered to put together all elements of our paper together, thinking it wouldn't be that difficult.
well. funny thing is....my yearbook editing past came back to haunt me as well as having an English teacher for a mother, thus leading me to spend the majority of the time simply editing my group members' grammar, spelling, and sentence structures. (the diagnosis: not good. i could have written at that level in 7th grade). wow. that was harsh. maybe it's because i haven't eaten since 6:30pm and i am about to go crazy. but i won't, because i'm going to BED.


luckily we don't present until thursday......hallelujah praise the lord.


cheers to feeling (and no doubt LOOKING) like a zombie tomorrow. 
and for the next week.

THANK[ful]SGIVING.

i am once again the world's worst blogger. to explain myself; i've been busy EATING, spending time with family, EATING, watching tv, baking, EATING, and squeezing in some homework (and trying to squeeze into my jeans). my sister, brother-in-law, and nieces came down for the day and we had a good time filled with EATING, games (i lost at both crazy 8s and yahtzee), and football. we missed our dear brother, but from what i hear, 75 degrees in arizona wasn't a bad second.
i could write a novel of what i am thankful for this year; but for your sake and mine, i will sum it up in these three words: god, family, and health. i'll leave those up to your own interpretation.


how do i know i've been home for a few days?

• i've been watching the "DCC (dallas cowboy cheerleaders) : making the team 6" marathons....which i only watch at home
• the amount of carbs i've consumed is truly alarming, and i'm actually half-way motivated to go to the gym this week (never happens)
• my room is an absolute disaster.....simply because i don't have to clean up for my roommate
• i've slept until at least noon almost every day......i'm soaking up my acceptable-sleeping-habits-because-i'm-in-college years.....deal with it.

i think it's a little unfair to have all of this homework when i'm supposed to be enjoying thanksgiving and being with my family......but with finals in 9 days, it's got to be done sometime. i'm still peeved.

are you a cosby fan? i recently had a conversation about bill cosby with my friend daniel about how i don't think he's particularly funny......until i saw this: 

i can't remember where i found this, but i almost died laughing.......too good.

with that, i'm going to go eat some pumpkin pie. i forgot to mention i was thankful for that.....oops.

LOVE; c.

picture this.

let's explain my day with pictures, because those are more interesting than words (usually) :

[bethany community church] i went this morning with bekah, lauren, & meranda :)

[starbucks] from 2-5pm it's buy one, get one free holiday drinks! i ended up buying them for two friends. it took a lot of willpower to not feel selfish and get one for myself, but seeing their faces light up when i came back was worth it.

[harper-collins study bible] today i will be reading philippians and 1 corinthians for my ufdn homework. good thing they are two of my favorite NT books ;)

[a shower] this might be the single most important thing i do today. i wish i could shower in this shower instead of the dorm showers. three more days til i'm home for thanksgiving and will be able to enjoy the luxury of this. and a bath.

how did you spend your sunday?

xo, C

winter registration.

today, at 10am, i registered for winter quarter. as if the increasingly-freezing-weather wasn't already warning me that winter is right around the corner, picking out my classes for winter quarter really sealed the deal. it's so crazy how fast time goes (i'm one quarter away from having junior-status....what??!) but i'm just trying to enjoy it and go day by day.




here is what winter quarter 2012 looks like .......
Monday, Wednesday, & Friday
@11:00-12:20pm   [ECON 2102] : Principles of Macroeconomics
@ 1:30-2:50pm      [UCOR 2000] : The West and the World


Tuesday & Thursday
@10:30-12:50pm    [ACCT 2361] : Financial Accounting


to sum it up....it's basically every class i don't want to take all at once. i plan on calling/skyping my brother every day to help me with my financial accounting class....he can deal with it. i'm not going to lie; i'm scared about these classes. they are not easy. but i have to take them sometime, i might as well take all of them at once, right?? if i don't make it alive past march, you will know why.
A bonus is having double duty: both macroeconomics and accounting count towards my major AND minor. so that's nice! another thing....this is the exact same schedule (time-wise) that i have this quarter, (due to a wait-listed class) so nothing will change about that. i am going to enjoy this while i can, because i have an 8AM CLASS spring quarter. 8. A.M. me. the first (and hopefully LAST) class that early in college. too bad that's the only time i can fit that class in my schedule....otherwise, i would not being waking up at zero-dark-thirty for it. at least it's not winter quarter though, right?? i would die.




what else happened on my wednesday?

• standing in the pouring rain for 40 MINUTES waiting to get into gwinn for lunch (ps: NOT worth the wait....) thus looking like a wet (excuse me, DROWNED) dog the rest of the day.
• having a meltdown about my animal bio grade....status: let's hope miracles can still happen.
• i found out how they kick you out of the library: by turning the lights on and off. i mean, an announcement over an intercom would work just fine, but apparently turning the lights off and giving me a heart attack is the preferred method.
• group worship service @ FFMC. soooo goood. passionate. emotional. moving. i could feel God's presence.
• nutella. enough said.

with that, i am signing off.

two days until the weekend.
:)

loveLOVElove, C

changes.

i've finally joined the 21st century.....no, i haven't gotten a smart phone [M&D.....christmas???? ;) ] or an iPad......i updated my blogger homepage. it's the little things, people.
i've been avoiding it ever since they suggested i use it.....but now i am embracing it. 
and i like it so far. i always hate getting used to new technology, but soon i forget what the old one even looked like. funny how that works, huh?


to go along with my changes, i changed my background on my blog....but that isn't unusual...


sometimes changes are forced on us, and other times we can choose to change.
both results depend on your attitude and willingness to adapt. since more than often, change has been thrust upon me, i've grown to hate it. but once i've realized the growth that has come from those changes, i'm glad it happened. maybe that's why i've become more adventurous when it comes to changes -- you never know how it might turnout, but you'll never know if you don't try.


i'm sorry for the lame analogy between trivial technology and deep thoughts of life ... but it had to be done ;)




here is evidence that i do wear my glasses...and am productive....usually :)

loveLOVElove.

bible in a minute.

Enjoy this video as i slave away doing my christian scriptures homework ;)

you will love it.

and learn a lot.

or absolutely nothing.....

a few of my favorite things......

saturdays. jourdan echtle. macaroni grill.  

this my definition of a good day ;)

the night of all nights.

remember how i mentioned in my last post about going to see turquoise jeep at WWU? well here is photographic evidence that i did. we almost didn't go because of scheduling conflicts, and at the last minute taylor couldn't go and bekah was able to go. so it all worked out!

the camouflage bandanas are a tribute to the 'lemme smang it' video....

i had no idea what it would be like to see a youtube sensation in real life, but it was so much better than i could have imagined. we literally laughed the entire time....

i've tried to research more about these crazy people but there is little to no literature available. i have no idea how old they are, where they're from, or what their actual names are. but that's part of the fun of it, the complete obscurity and mysteriousness.

I went with alyssa and bekah who are on my floor and daniel who lives on our brother floor. once we showed him those videos, he was hooked. also of note -- we have the same birthday. SO weird as i don't know anyone with my birthday.....

we waited in line for entirely too long both to buy shirts and to meet them. it was pandemonium. and chaotic. but it was worth it. they were super nice and seemed appreciative that we were there.

afterwards, we went to Boomers Burgers in Bellingham (how's that for alliteration ;)  which was an old-school burger place complete with a drive-in similar to sonic's....and WAFFLE FRIES. holy cow those were sooooo good. i don't know how i went 19 years without them.

my stomach hurt from all the laughing i did. i am so blessed to have friends that i can be myself with, 100%.

 bekah & i right before the show.....

 this was supposed to be a "TJ" for "turquoise jeep" but we all ended up doing it backwards hahaha

yung humma in the flesh.....

pretty raheem (looking like 90s dennis rodman) & whatchamacallit (yes, that is his "name")

 daniel, PRETTY RAHEEM, alyssa, and I

 daniel, bekah, tummyscratch beatz, alyssa, FLYNT FLOSSY and me.

daniel, alyssa, YUNG HUMMA, bekah, and me

PS: if you still have NO idea what i am talking about, YOUTUBE them! you will be both informed and entertained.

bow wow.

i have decided that when i have my own house, i am going to get a dog. 


i either want this one: (a pomeranian/husky mix)

or this one: (a welsh corgi)

i've always liked corgis (not only because queen elizabeth has one) but because they're just so cute and little. i just came across the pomeranian/husky mix, and fell in love. as cute as puppies are, i don't have the time/patience to train them, so i'd probably get one a few years old. 


a few names in the running: 
-corgi (if it's a corgi.....don't hate)
-moose
-bella
-zoe
-jack


i know i definitely don't want a big dog, because i myself find them kind of frightening and overwhelming. i also want to find a dog that doesn't bark constantly/yips unnecessarily, or one that sheds like crazy (probably unlikely).
i just had to share these adorable little furballs with you! 
i'm starting to sound like a crazy cat lady.......except i don't want any cats.




yikes.......

an update of sorts.

from L to R: 

taylor, me, alyssa, & bekah

4 of us sophomores went out to dinner on friday night......i am loving getting to know these ladies. they make me excited to live on this floor. and to be alive in general!

i apologize for not writing anything longer than a paragraph, because i'm sure you're all DYING to know EVERY SINGLE DETAIL about my life ;) but in reality, i don't have time! 

everytime i set aside time to blog, i either get sidetracked or realize i have something due the next day. even if you only look at the pictures anyway, writing everything down and getting it out of my head helps. we both benefit!

so this is my promise -- when i finally get my time/self together, i will write a more in-depth post. for your enjoyment (ha) and my sanity.

i got to see my mom (and one of my friends from age 7 and her mom) this weekend which was so wonderful. it was just what i needed - getting me through this week. love all three of them. more on that later...

events coming up this week:

-going to the zoo for my animal bio class (EW. as if i didn't hate the zoo enough, why not add a 6-page worksheet to it?!)

-going to the turquoise jeep concert on wednesday at WWU. go here or here to get a preview....

-study abroad appointment :))))))))))

-NO SCHOOL ON FRIDAY. enough said.

i love each and everyone one of you! have a wonderful start to your school/work week :)

<3.

peet's coffee and tea.

study session at peet's with katie <3.

is today tuesday?

that's the question i've literally asked myself 9320862 times today. i guess it's cause i can't wait until the weekend ;)

my brother likes to say that the 3 most depressing string words in the english language are:

"Late night auditing."


i'd like to offer something similar:
"studying at 3 am."


why was i studying at 3am, you might ask? i sound like a stereotypical college student, which is strange, because this was the first time in my entire college career that i have stayed up this late doing homework - or to study. if i were going to make excuses, it's because halloween was yesterday. who schedules a test the day after halloween?! that is ridiculous. i went to "el arbol" aka katie, lindsey & abby's apartment for a festive time, complete with pumpkin pie ICE CREAM. that's right. we watched the village and ate tons of goodies - emphasis on the tons. i probably couldn't have gone to bed at a reasonable time even i wanted to due to my stomachache. what can i say, my eyes are bigger than my 
stomach.....and my sweet tooth is bigger than both combined.


and as for that test....it wasn't my worst, but it wasn't my best either. at least i know that i'm not a good test taker. there's no point in lingering on it though, right? move on with my life! i sound like my mom hahaha. 


tonight (in 41 minutes to be exact) is 1st hill's first ever SPUD shot this year. remember this? it's always interesting to see the random costumes that people come up with....i honestly have no idea what we're doing, so i should probably figure that out.


also, glee is coming back after a month-long hiatus. i am jazzed! my tuesday nights are now complete.


my last item of note: starbucks CHRISTMAS cups have officially been released. along with eggnog, peppermint, and gingerbread flavors. i cannot contain my excitement.


i hope you have a wonderful rest of your TUESDAY night :)

oh and HAPPY NOVEMBER!

hallo-WEEKEND.

i'm going to make this short and sweet because i have an INSANE amount of studying to do for my midterm tomorrow. yesterday, tay and i went to bellingham at the last minute. carly invited us to hang out with her and our other plans crashed and burned so we made the quick hour and 15 minute trip up there. we didn't even have costumes. luckily and graciously carly had a few tricks up her sleeve (as usual) so we ended up just fine. i was a monarch butterfly, carly was maria from "guess who" (see mom, i wasn't the only one obsessed with that game!!) and taylor was pop singer ke$ha, who she had no idea about. everytime we'd say, "taylor, this is SO kesha." to which she would say: "i'll trust that it is because i have no idea." hahaha. i'd say we did pretty well with the time we had. we dropped by a dance (one word: THRILLER) and saw a bunch of people from high school at our friend tim & dixon's house. it was basically BHHS: 2.0 - the next generation. the most random people were there. then we went to taylor's sister's apartment....where we stayed up until 5am - which i do not advise. it was so great being reunited with good friends who know me inside and out. 

 roommates!

 the work of art in progress.

 KE$HA completed.

 love her.

 the back! outrageous.

 we know how to have a good time.

 the full ensemble.

 frolicking with my BFF.

 my monarch wings!

 gettin our groove on.

 :)

 no words.

 bet you can't "guess who" she is....

 i decided i'm the triplet. the gluttonous triplet.

best friends.

reunited.

halloween.

western.

dancing.

love.