Category Archives: happy

Word Vomit and Video Projects.

Posted on by Christina Does It All
25

As happy as I am lately, I’ve also sort of been a little stressed. School is sucking away a good amount of my time, Husband and I are planning an upcoming vacation, money is more or less nonexistent right now, and my theatre class, as much as I love it, is really pushing me a bit outside of my comfort zone. (And I have a pretty wide comfort zone!) I had nearly forgotten both the thrill and the terror of performing in front of a group of people. It’s especially intense going into class never knowing what or how exactly I’ll be performing. (Example: The other day I volunteered and was told I was to act as if I was at a laundromat. I had to fold laundry while simultaneously flirting and attempting to get the attention of a dude classmate. And I couldn’t talk. I’ve been married for over 2 years now. It’s been a while since I’ve purposely batted my eyelashes, and my attempting probably looked more like twitching. Hopefully sexy twitching?) The experience is in general exhilarating and I can feel that I’m growing from it.  But mixed with the hustle and bustle of life already, I approached this weekend feeling pretty drained and ready for a break. For me, the perfect idea of relaxing is spending lots of quality time with my pals and my hubby. Lucky for me, I received plenty of this. Two girls nights, a couple’s date night (At Applebees ((Told you I’m broke)), which is now called ‘Club Apple’ and has strobe lights after 9pm. I can’t stress to you enough how much this tickles me.) AND I got to help one of my closest friends unpack a little. We’re both pretty excited that she just moved three miles away from me and within walking distance from the house I nanny at.  Side note: How weird would it be if my boss unknowingly saw me cruising through her neighborhood on one of my off days? I texted her beforehand so she’d know I wasn’t stalking her family for fun on the weekends. Well y’all, this has been Christina’s word vomit of the day. See below for a few pictures of a fabulous weekend AND a video project a couple of girly friends and I are quite proud of. Ahem:So. Tessa, Melody and I decided to humor ourselves (and hopefully a few others) and make one of those “Shit Girls Say” parody videos. We spent hours last night making it, and I stayed up later than I should have to edit the clips. We had a blast making and writing it and I don’t think the final product is all too shabby either. So. Without further ado, I present to you, “Shit Girls Say (To Make Themselves Feel Better)” :

In case of a city wide blackout, I’m your girl.

Posted on by Christina Does It All
21

A couple of weeks back, a guy friend of mine posted this on my facebook:

“Your effing neverending happiness could power New York City for 24 whole hours in the event of a blackout.”

I’m not sure how I was supposed to take this, but I was both tickled and pleased. I love that friends know all too well and can tease me about my freakish amounts of joy. It’s something I’m proud of, because I feel I choose it. To be happy. To see the good over the bad. To love the rain. To plan trips when broke, knowing the memories will one day compensate for said brokeness. To take a long run when I’m feeling extra stressed. To catch some of the silly things I fuss about–A bad hair day, too much homework, a messy house–and know that this is what others would kill to complain about. To be thankful for my youth, knowing it’ll probably go by faster than I want it to. To laugh as much as possible. To focus on the little details that make life spectacular: The smell of a new book, Hour long talks with girl friends, Hot showers, Pretty skies, The first sip of my glass of merlot, The taste of a fresh-baked, Husband-made cookie, Holding hands with someone I love, The candy a friend brings me to class, Hearing my dog snoring, Long kisses, Sweet words, Random treats, The gift cards left over from Christmas that support date night on a really,really,really tight budget. It’s things like this that give me the potential to power New York City in the event of a black-out. (Ha-ha.)

At the same time, I won’t lie and say that the extra goodness life throws my way doesn’t maybe help out said happiness. This weekend for example. Chilling downtown and cruising in a Hummer limo with my best friend and other cool peeps. Neat, unforgettable experiences like this may indeed aid in some extra boosts of happy power. Ahem:Not to mention, the calmer joy of catching up with loved ones I haven’t seen in much too long…. 

I definitely have my occasional grumpy days. My sad days. My mad days. But more than all of these combined, I have good days. Great days. Loved,bright, wonderful days. And the bad days I do have are me being blessed and spoiled enough to complain about my silly first world problems. The fact is, life is good, and I’d be stupid not to choose happiness. I know that my positive feelings probably never will be enough to power any sort of city in case of black-out, but that’s okay. Right now, I’m watching the sun set from my window and I’m about to go get all fancied up for gift-card date night with the husband. And I couldn’t be happier.

That moment where you get to tell your past that your present turned out just fine.

Posted on by Christina Does It All
12

“Well I am almost twenty-three

Confused with all the lines in-between

They are dying to be read

Softly spoken, simply said.”

(Tristan Prettyman- Simple as it should be)

A good word to describe how I’ve been feeling lately would probably be, “inspired.” Long walks in the park. Checking-out a library book for the first time in years. Friends and music and long drives that make me think. In a couple of months, I’ll turn 23. It’s the first time in a while that I haven’t dreaded getting another year older.  The sound of the word “Twenty-three” is something I like rolling off my tongue. To me, it sounds happy and young and playful, but grown-up and more aware too. Or maybe that’s just where I feel I’m at right now, and I’m just placing it to the way an age sounds on my lips. Either way, a lot of things seem to be coming together for me lately. It’s as if the universe is conspiring, not against me, but for me. Yesterday afternoon, for example.

 I adore my university, almost everything about it, but I dislike being forced to take religious courses that have nothing to do with my major. So I grudgingly made my way to my required religious course, where I saw our guest speaker. He was an Eastern Orthodox minister. He was wearing a robe. And, considering I’m not a church-goer, he looked eerily familiar. I sat down and tried to place how it was that I could possibly know this man, but wasn’t sure until he started speaking. Then I was near certain. It was Father Wilcoxson. Father Wilcoxson, who was my very first professor. Father Wilcoxson, who taught me English 1 at Austin Community College. Father Wilcoxson, whom I, at 18 years old, believed to have the first name of, ‘Father’, and just enjoyed wearing long, black robes. Father Wilcoxson who has been the most influential and remembered professor of any that I’ve had since. Father Wilcoxson, who knew all of my secrets. I remember walking up to this man after he had given the class our first assignment. It was to simply write a story about ourselves. I walked up to him and said, “I know what I want to write about. But….you have to promise not to judge me.” I think at this time I had become a little more aware that he may have been in a religious field of some sort. He informed me that he wasn’t there to judge, but to teach. This came as a relief. I was taking my first college course at the same time I just so happened to be  making some of the most questionable decisions of my life. I had recently been awoken from my sheltered existence in the form of waitressing. From this job sprung my first doozy of a relationship–A relationship that I knew without a doubt I shouldn’t be in, but was anyway. Being 18 and arguably the most naive,innocent girl to ever exist, ‘Love’ was all that mattered. Nothing and nobody else. Still, I needed the therapy of writing to someone who could read without judging, only grading. Father Wilcoxson offered this to me. Though I do feel that he kept his promise by never judging me, after the first paper he asked if he could speak with me.  My paper was good. The decisions I was writing about? Not so good. He gently informed me that the man I was with would not change, and that I needed to get the hell out of that relationship, asap (In different words, of course.) But I didn’t. I did, however, continue writing about it. By the end of the semester, he was taking me aside again, informing me that this relationship was no good and that it had to stop. I still wasn’t listening. And then I never saw him again. That is, until yesterday.

It’s a very funny feeling to see someone who knows you only as the girl you were four years ago. Because I see that girl as a story. I see her as someone who existed in some kind of parallel universe, a ‘me‘ that existed only in some far away land. I know she was real, and I know all about who she was and what she did, but I don’t think of her as being the same person that I am today. We’re too different. We shared bodies and memories maybe, but she’s gone now. The wiser, more mature, much happier me is here. I thought all of these things until about 24 hours ago. Seeing Father Wilcoxson standing only feet away from me was a mind-altering experience. My past was meeting my present. I couldn’t sit still. I wanted to wait until after class to speak with him, but I just couldn’t. So, in between all of my classmates religious questions, I finally raised my hand and blurted out:

“This is totally besides the point but….did you use to teach classes at ACC?”

Father Wilcoxson: Yes….And you look extremely familar.

Me: Yes…Yeah…Wow…You taught me English 1. (I was flustered at this point.)

Father Wilcoxson: Okay. Yeah. Did you…I hope I gave you a good grade?

Me: Yeah…you gave me an A actually!

Father Wilcoxson: Okay good …. You look older. Do I look older?

Me: No,no…I was actually thinking you looked younger.

After this whole exchange, the whole class was laughing and my current professor’s face was bright red with his own chuckling. Despite the amusement we brought to the classroom, I knew I wanted to end things on a more serious note with him. I waited until class was over, and he came to the back of the room to throw his water bottle away. I told him that he was the most influential professor I’d ever had, that he helped me through a lot of tough things at the time and that I had been married for 2+ years now. I also thanked him about fifty times. I wasn’t sure what he would remember about me, and wasn’t about to tell him, but did at least want to let him know that I was in a much better place now. But somewhere in our conversation he asked me, “Didn’t you work at a restaurant?” And I couldn’t help but laugh a little bashfully, realizing that he remembered most everything.  He seemed genuinely happy for me, and the place in my life where I’m at now.

To me, seeing Father Wilcoxson was a lot like closure. It was as if that chapter of my life from four years back was finally closing. It was a realization and an acceptance that the past me and the present me are the same me. It was the ability to see, before my eyes, a part of my life that has come full circle.  It was the knowledge of how far I’ve come and of how wonderful it is to be where I’m at right now. And it was this incredible, unforgettable feeling of being able to tell someone from the past who undoubtedly helped shape my present, that their part in the book of my life helped aid in reaching a happy ending.

Happy,Happy,Happy.

Posted on by Christina Does It All
24

The past few weeks have been near perfect. I just feel so alive and young and loved and ready for anything and everything. I’ve been kind of permanently excited lately, and sometimes for no particular reason. I guess it’s just because I’m living. Because I can use all my senses. Because I have the ability to walk and talk and breathe and love. It’s a beautiful thing, no?

Some happy pieces lately:

  • All red and pink in my package of Dots! If that isn’t a reason for excitement, I don’t know what is.
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  • School started up again this week. I really love my classes this semester. Probably me favorite is ‘Theatrical Performance.’ It’s just started and already I’m falling in love. Though yesterday was a little strange. We were practicing relaxing and focusing, a couple of qualities which obviously help on stage. To practice these things, we partnered up and practiced moving each other’s limbs around. Head, legs, arms, the works. I thought I was relaxed, but my partner kept shaking my body parts and telling me to, “Let go.” I apparently do not know how to let go. Control freak problems. The instructor noticed this and used me as one of the guinea pigs next time around. Next thing I know, five people are moving around different parts of my body, whilst I lay on the ground giggling nervously. I kept my limb-movers laughing and amused by saying things such as, “Watch out for the stubble.” and “I think this is the most awkward moment of my life.”, but I never did learn how to be totally limp and trusting. Maybe next time I find my body being simultaneously maneuvered around in odd places by five almost (albeit kind) strangers, I’ll be better. Practice makes perfect!
  • My friend Becca has just started training at the Cheesecake Factory. Yesterday, being the wonderful and thoughtful person that she is, she brought me a box full of yumminess to class.
As I opened my take-out box of goodness, she took the time to write me out a menu. It read:
“The grilled chicken is ‘skinnylicious BBQ chicken’
And the crusted one is Idk
And the pasta is tomato basil pasta with cheese.”
The crusted one, whatever the hell that was, was my favorite.
  • During my week, I have about a 35 minute break between work and school. Instead of lounging or eating, I’ve started to take this time to work out at my school gym. I’ve been running on the treadmill and have started lifting light weights (A New Years resolution!) I’m also doing ab work-outs three times a week and am starting to see traces of a 4-pack.  I’ve cut out all fast food (even my beloved Chipolte) and soda from my diet. I feel awesome and constantly energized and I’m currently in the best shape of my life. I don’t know why it’s taken me this long!
  • Tuesdays and Thursdays are my long days. I leave for work at 8:45 and don’t get back home from school until around 7:30. Last night I came home,exhausted, to the aroma of a home-cooked dinner. Hubby had made me chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes and homemade gravy. Later, he made chocolate chip cookies. I put the picture of him slaving away in the kitchen up on my facebook. A couple of my favorite comments:

Girl Friend: “What a sweet ol’ house husband.”

Dude Friend:  “Look at that piece of meat! Also the steaks look pretty good…”

  • My best girl friend has been begging me to get a Twitter for some time now. I usually just blatantly ignore her requests. I am extremely slow and hesitant when it comes to being comfortable with different social networking devices. It took me a good year, maybe even two, to transfer over to Facebook after everyone else had.  The same best friend finally convinced me, and even helped me register and uploaded most of my pictures to Facebook. I still didn’t use it until almost everybody had left Myspace. Even knowing how stubborn and reluctant I am, Meggie is quite persistent. She asks me or tells me about once a week to get a Twitter. Last night, she resorted to bribery. I said something on a blog comment that she found quotable (“I’m sure if men ever ‘fixed’ women, they’d be quite bored anyway.”) and then she informed me, “I’m quoting you, Tina. But I’m doing it on Twitter so….you should get one.” Sigh. I’m still not convinced. But she is slowly but surely wearing me down.
  • I mentioned last week that I was a promotional model for an event in San Antonio. I also mentioned how completely amazing the people I met were. I miss them so much already. Morgan, one of the girls that I miss dearly, left a comment on the rest of our little group’s facebooks that wrapped up our time together pretty perfectly :, “Sooo yeah I already miss yall so much. I miss our long hours of goofing off, eating lollipops, changing our hair every hour, singing, taking as many breaks as we can to walk around, and long talks about boys. Let’s PLEASE reunite soooon. Y’all are so great :) “   I never went to summer camp as a child, but from watching movies and stuff, I feel like these are the kind of bonds that I missed out on back then.
  •  
  • While I was working this event in San Antonio, I came upon an older man with the last name, ”Wagemaker.” How neat is that?! I informed him that I loved his last name and he informed me that if I was a bit older I could have married him and had that last name too. Christina Wagemaker. I like. But Christina Boudreaux is pretty nice too, I suppose.
  • I made a video blog! It’s been too long. Unfortunately, my computer is having all kinds of technical difficulties. The colors are very off and at the end my voice distorts to sound like one of those creepy phone callers from horror movies. I’m trying to work through kinks because a couple of girl friends and I are about to start a project with said web cam. Thought I’d might as well show y’all what I came up with:
  • One more class until my weekend begins! I have lots of lovely plans with buddies this weekend, including exploring and hot-tubs. All the more reason to be excited and happy.

Warning: Mushy-gushy, Lovey-dovey, Hubby-wubby stuff.

Posted on by Christina Does It All
24

I usually try my best to keep from writing about the mushy-gushy, lovey-dovey, hubby-wubby stuff. For the most part, I like to focus on my adventures, friends, experiences and the rest of life in general. After all, those are huge parts of my world and there is only so much you can say about a wonderful relationship before making everyone around you want to puke. Thus, even in my day-to-day life I really don’t talk about my husband with others too much. When friends make comments on how cute we are or how great we are together, I probably tend to quickly agree, maybe blush a little and then change the subject. There’s no need to ramble on and on about what most already know: Robby is–without a doubt–a lovable, amazing person and an incredible husband. (He kind of has to be to put up with me. It’s a prerequisite.)

That being said, every once in a while I really do just have to gush, if only just a little. Because he is wonderful, and I very rarely give him enough credit for that. I forget that this world is made up of billions of douche-bags, and that I did not get one of them. Not even close. I got Robby. Robby, who is patient and understanding and calm when I’m frantic. Who allows me to over-analyze everything out loud and doesn’t mind that I’m insane. Who loves educating me on the simple things in life, such as Star Wars and Back to the Future marathons and cheap Mexican food. Who simply chuckles and looks at me with love-filled eyes when I dance obnoxiously or pronounce a word wrong. Who gets up to bring me water when he’s already laying down in bed, just because I don’t feel like going to get it myself. Who will be an amazing daddy one day, and who loves to annoy me every month by saying, “Yay! We’re pregnant!”, even when we both know that we’re definitely not. Who loves my friends, who love him right back. Who is always on my side and never fails to put me first. Who allows me to drag him to things he doesn’t really want to go to, and has a good attitude about it just the same. Who gets excited everytime he sees a deer. Who is always happy and rarely not smiling. Who is selfless and faithful and oh-so-handsome and the best listener I know. Who constantly is able to surprise me, in a good way. The other day he made homemade butterscotch cookies. They tasted like those Great American Cookies you can buy at the mall. Among everything else, the dude can bake. Apparently he learned from home-ec in high-school. Just when I think he can’t get any better, or that our relationship is at it’s best, he proves me wrong. He always gets better. And we always get better together.

To top it all off and for reasons that sometimes surpass my understanding (I mean, the guy knows everything about me…), he seems to think I’m pretty great too. The other day I received a typed love note that was just too sweet not to share. I did make sure I had husband’s permission before I showed y’all though. As it is a little sappy, I was relieved that it only took asking him, “Pleaseeeee?” a few times.

“Dear Christina,

A few of the many reasons I love you.

You have dinner ready for me after work.

You do Christmas shopping for my family on the most hectic day.

You do all those things around the house. Clean laundry and much more.

You keep me from being a total hermit.

You love our dogs as much as I do.

You go out and help make money for us.

You are a very determined person and an achiever.

You’re my light in the darkness.

There could never be words strong enough to express how much I love you. You’re my everything. I love you so much,baby.”

If it’s not clear yet, we maybe like each other a little bit.

As a side note, husband really isn’t much of a writer. He actually kind of hates it. So the fact that he typed this up was a heart-melter all in itself, though I couldn’t help but giggle about the “light in the darkness” bit. I was also pretty proud of him for how great his grammar was. I didn’t have to make any punctuation or spelling changes when typing it up, and only had to capitalize a few things. Props to him! (And me, for the English lessons I’ve given him over the years. Hee.)

2012, I think maybe I love you already.

Posted on by Christina Does It All
16

“Follow me and everything is all right, I’ll be the one to tuck you in at night; And if you wanna leave, I can guarantee, you won’t find nobody else like me.”

Hello there and Happy New Year! I had a wonderful,safe,fun and slightly crazy night spent with friends at a local bar and later back at my very own house. My friends like my house. I like that my friends like my house. Because I like my friends and my house. (And the alchoholic goodies that friends bring along to my house.) You know those moments when you just feel completely wrapped up in happiness? And, you kind of just think to yourself, “This is perfect. I am happy.” I had one of those moments. Friends and I were sitting right next to a live band at the bar, and we were all drinking, laughing and singing along to a great rendition of Uncle Kracker’s, “Follow me.”  I’m young and alive and surrounded by sexy,wonderful people who love me. I’m starting a new year with a new dress, splendid folks and so many great plans and ideas already in mind. To top it all off and as luck would have it, I had just found a sparkly New Years hat to celebrate with. I just looked at all of the faces around me, and mixed with the music and the atmosphere and life in general, I just felt like jumping up and down out of pure joy. But sitting there basking in the glow and taking it all in was just as great.

Pictures of a, as my friend Melody put it, “crazy fun time.”

As most of you probably gather, my friends mean the world to me. One of my resolutions (That list coming soon) for 2012 is to be as good to my loved ones as they are to me. My best friend Tessa left me feeling like I’m off to a pretty good start a couple of days ago. She blog-commented,

“And Christina, you’re absolutely beautiful. I love that you’re my best friend. My mom said the other day, “you really found a rare one with Christina. She seems to be a really good friend”. Indeed!”

If I was more of a crier, I would have cried. Instead, I just felt really heart-warmed and blessed. Ringing in the New Year with her and so many other of my closest friends seems to be a good sign for the rest of 2012. I can’t wait to see what this year has in store for me.

Holiday Moments 2011

Posted on by Christina Does It All
16

I had a lovely, special, enchanting, festive, warm, cuddly, magical Christmas this year. I really hope you did too!

Some favorite moments:

  • My friend Priscilla presented me with my Christmas present last Friday. Beautiful  Steven Madden shoes with about 343243 inch heels.  I was equal parts grateful and terrified. I don’t do high heels. I can’t walk in them without falling all over the place every five seconds. 343243 inch heels are especially frightening. Along with my gift and much to my amusement, Priscilla presented me with two conditions.

1. “You have to throw away those black strappy things.” I have these pair of wedges that aren’t the cutest but I wear out because they were super cheap and are comfortable. We came to the agreement that I didn’t have to throw them away, but could only wear them twice a year. Or when she wasn’t around.

2. “I have to teach you how to walk in them. We will have lessons later.”  Deal.

  • Seeing the above baby and her family. I nannied for them all last summer but hadn’t seen them in about four months. On Friday, I was finally reunited with three of my favorite little ladies. I was sort of afraid Poppy wouldn’t remember me.  Four months is so long in baby time. After her mom warned me that she had been especially clingy and wouldn’t even go to her mother-in-law, she actually reached for me to hold her. Gah. For someone who doesn’t want kids til she’s 85, I still sure do love the ones that don’t belong to me.

  • I must note a couple of the gifts I received within a 24 hour period. Husband put lottery tickets and wine in my stocking, and Gwen gifted me coffee and beverage mugs. Gambling, alcohol and caffeine for Christmas. People knowing me too well is really making me look like such a well-rounded individual,eh?!
  • Christmas text messages between the best dude friend and I.  See above. The way we address each other tickles me.
  • Spending Christmas day with my hubby and the in-laws. The whole day was perfect. It’s completely true that marrying someone means you marry their whole family too. And I am so thankful for that. I couldn’t have found better than my man and the Boudreaux clan that came along with him.
  • So. Much. Food.
  • Pretty lights.
  • Eating out with my lovely family. To make a great evening even better, my aunt and uncle paid for Robby and I as part of our Christmas present. Made my heart and tummy full.
  • Maybe I love this time of year because of all the bright and shiny things. Maybe it’s because it always reminds me how very loved I am, and how many special people I have in my life. Maybe it’s the cold weather and getting all warm snuggled up with my boy. Maybe it’s being surrounded by friends and family. Maybe it’s that everyone just seems just a little bit more cheerful. Maybe it’s tales of Santa Claus and watching cheesy made-for-tv Christmas movies. Maybe it’s being around little ones that stirs up and finds the magic my little kid self felt for this season. Maybe it’s all of the surprises and gifts and get-togethers and food. Maybe and probably it’s a mix of all of these things and so much more.But I won’t over-think it. I’m sitting next to my husband and he’s saying sweet things to me and I believe it’s time for some more cuddling now.
  • What makes this time of year special for you?

Those Moments.

Posted on by Christina Does It All
10

Hey. Guess what? ONE more final left until I am free for three and a half weeks! It’s been a pretty intense week thus far, but all of the little and wonderful moments from the past days are keeping me quite happy. Would you like to know what moments I speak of? I’ll take your silence as a yes.

These moments:

  • Train ride including my wonderful husband and in-laws, homemade sugar cookies, hot chocolate and SANTA CLAUS! Mrs. Claus handed out whistles to all of the kids on the train AFTER giving them their sugar cookies. I think Mr. Claus and his wife should get together and have a friendly marital discussion about the timing of their presents.
  • Celebrating my friend Chelsea’s birthday party and my friend Katie graduating from dental assisting school (So proud of her!) all in one night.

  • Cuddling with two of my favorite girls. (I adore the below picture)

  • My signature dishes from this past weekend: Peanut butter pie and bacon/almond/pineapple/egg fried rice. The pie was by far the best dessert I’ve ever made and the fried rice was super scrumptious too. The only way you can really get me to eat anything fruit related is if it’s mixed with something super salty or unhealthy. Such as bacon. 
  • When it comes to grades, I usually end up freaking myself out over nothing.  This semester, I was most worried about my Communication Technology final, which I was sort of sure I did miserable on. I hesitantly looked a few minutes ago to see that I made 19.20 out of 20 possible points. Huge sigh of relief. I have ONE more final to go. Wish me luck!
  • I was sitting on the couch a couple of days ago when my hubby announced from the kitchen, “I have such an amazing wife.”  I laughed and asked him where that came from. He’s always saying sweet,adorable things but this one was especially random. His reply to my question? “Because. There’s peanut butter.”  I’m glad he’s so easily pleased.
  • I have some endearing and often amusing moments with the four year old boy I nanny.  This morning, his parents were getting ready to leave when he excitedly told me, “I have something for you.” I thought it would be a drawing or something so I just somewhat absentmindedly said okay. He then runs into his parent’s bedroom which causes them to ask what he thinks he is doing. I was washing out his little sister’s cereal bowl when I hear the following conversation:
  • Little dude:  I’m going to get Christina her present!
  • His parents in quiet voices: No,  not yet….
  • Little dude in a not so quiet voice: But I want to give her her BRACELET!
  • His parents still in quiet voices: No…..it’s not Christmas yet!

He eventually gave up and I pretended to be oblivious to this entire conversation. Still, I couldn’t help but smile. Later, we made a giant Christmas card and I taught him how to draw a Christmas tree. When we were outside waiting on the bus to arrive, he looked up at me and out of nowhere said, “You look beautiful.”  My heart melted a little bit.

I know that one day when I look back to this time in my life, I won’t be thinking about all of the stress from my finals, but moments like these. It’s those kind of moments that make it to memories.

The Best Kinds of Study Breaks

Posted on by Christina Does It All
16

My weekend revolved mostly around studying. And papers. And projects. And more studying. Luckily, I was able to work some refreshing and wonderful breaks into the mix, involving people I love, food, fun, and Christmas festivities. Thanks to these things, I’m feeling rejuvenated and ready for the madness now. Bring the next two weeks on. I got this.

My study breaks:

Friday:

Husband and I were startled by an obnoxiously loud knock on the door Friday around 10:30 pm. Who obnoxiously bangs on doors past 10pm without at least making plans to do so first? Rude! I should have figured then that it would be some dude in my life. (The last time this happened it was my best guy friend, surprising me by coming over to apologize for something around midnight. The boys in my world seem to like making unnecessarily big gestures.) Husband looks through the peep hole (I instructed him to do so, just in case a serial killer was on the run or something.) and I think we were both equally taken aback when he announced, “It’s your brother.”  My reaction was an honestly and completely surprised, “Really?!?!”  Brother and I hadn’t been speaking for about a month. Well, he hadn’t been speaking to me. To make a really long story super short, we were both put in the middle of some familial issues when we shouldn’t have been. It just put us in a bad place. I had been bugging him for a while to just talk to me, but eventually gave up and let him be. I figured he would come around when he was ready. This is another characteristic of the most important boys in my world. Still. I missed him. He’s one of my best friends, and I think I almost cried seeing that silly kid show up with that dumb grin on his face. We gave each other a big hug before he left, and I felt a little broken piece of me mend back together again. Siblings may drive you crazy and forgiveness may be hard, but they are more than worth the insanity and the pride you sometimes have to swallow.

Saturday:

Saturday night, husband, my lovely friend Katie and myself headed to our friend Deesh’s place. Other buddies were already there to greet us when we arrived. There was also moonshine and homemade beer waiting. Deesh got drunk for the first time in all of the years that I’ve known him. I believe we got home that night after 5 in the morning. What I’m saying is, it was exactly the good time I was needing after a full day of studying. Pictures do this night more justice than I can with words.

The next morning: 

Sunday:

This cold weather is making it really feel like the holiday season. Drowning in homework or not, this puts me in a super cheerful mood. Husband and I purchased a Christmas tree, which we plan on decorating tonight. (My study break for Monday! Hot chocolate will be included.) Later, I began my baking and cooking projects for the day. I’ve recently come to love cooking. I find it therapeutic and fun to create something and then eat it. This was bound to happen someday, as my whole immediate family loves to either cook or bake. I just thought maybe the gene skipped me.Thankfully, it didn’t. I’ve actually gotten pretty good at this whole making food thing lately. Almost all of what I make is edible now. Sunday may have been my most scrumptiously edible cooking day yet. After browsing the web for recipes, I decided on Honey and Pecan glazed pork-chops for dinner and Nutella Cheesecake for dessert. Before yesterday, I had never ever tried Nutella. I always thought sticky chocolate found in the peanut butter aisle would be rather gross. I don’t know if I’ve ever been more wrong about anything in my entire life. I wanted to eat the whole thing straight out of the can. But I managed to leave enough to make the cheesecake. Oh my goodness. SEX cheesecake. This should be the name. And the honey-pecan glazed pork-chops? Orgasmic pork. I’ve never made two recipes that tasted so decadently wonderful or that I was so proud of. And they were surprisingly easy to make! Also, husband loved them both. I don’t know why I ever hated cooking.

After dinner, husband and I were getting warm and cozy on the couch while watching a little tv.  I decided to play one of my little games with him. This one is self-entitled the, “Would-you-rather-do-this-or-leave-me-if-you-had-to-pick-game.” It’s fun. I ask him something completely outlandish, strange or ridiculous that he would absolutely never want to do, and then end my scenario with something like, “So would you rather do that or leave me and not have to do it…. if you had to pick no matter what?” Last night I gave him an especially crazy scene. He thought for only a second and then replied matter-of-factly with, “Yeah. I’d do it.” I was shocked. “Really?! But…that’s crazy!” He replied with, “Baby, you should know by now that there’s not much I wouldn’t do for you.”  This is something I know. He usually shows me with actions more than he does with words, so hearing it out loud still stunned me a little bit. Because it’s so true. He’s just so different. It’s not some gimmick he uses to get laid, or meaningless words used out of the giddiness of a new relationship, or something used to impress anyone else. This is just Robby. It’s who he is. It’s how he loves. It’s how much he loves me. I take this for granted. Having this man who loves me so completely that he would honestly cross the world and back just to see me happy. Hearing it out loud reminded me not to take something so rare and special for granted. To appreciate it, and him, with my whole heart. And I do. Goodness gracious I am a lucky, happy girl.

My study breaks are the best. They leave me feeling loved, blessed, content and ready to kick ass on these upcoming finals.

“Nah. I’m used to you.” –And other life events.

Posted on by Christina Does It All
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Finals are coming up. I have about 53423423 projects to complete before then. It’s crunch time. My brain might explode. Before this happens, here’s some life updates from yours truly:

  • Above is the four year old little dude I nanny. If it looks like he has a dog bowl on his head, this is simply because he does.

  • Have you ever tried Torchy’s Tacos? You must. The fried avocado taco thingy does dirty things with my mouth. This is a good thing.

  • Above are the two girlies who accompany me on most of my school lunch dates. I adore them.
  • Becca (above left), and I have somehow managed to unintentionally have classes together every semester. We both started last fall, and met as we just so happened to share two classes. The next semester we shared another class, and this is where we really bonded and became close friends.  This semester, we marveled at both sharing Government together without having planned it this way. As our majors are entirely different and we’re both upperclassmen now, we thought for sure we’d never share another class. This saddened our hearts but we had accepted it. Talking over tacos yesterday, I mentioned my schedule. When I grudgingly mentioned a required religion course, Becca announced, “I think I’m taking that too.”  Considering there’s different times for the same class, we were hesitantly excited. She checked her schedule, and she too is taking the same class, Tuesdays/Thursdays from 2:30-3:45.  We were both rather giddy about this. What are the chances? Our friendship is obviously meant to be.

  • Ever heard of Dude Perfect? (Click to see a crazy awesome video) They started out as these college dudes from Texas who made crazy basketball shots from their backyard and posted them on YouTube. Now they’re famous for making basketball shots from the top of football stadiums and airplanes and stuff. They are, in two words, bad ass. Well. Two brothers (twins,at that) of Dude Perfect came to my university and spoke for my Communication Technology class on Tuesday. I was excited. I didn’t know who they were before, but hell, they have a book and they’ve been on CBS (and Fox and Good Morning America and….) and Jimmy Kimmel even talked about them. Did I mention they make basketball shots from planes? Also, I’m easily starstruck. When I asked to get a picture with them, the whole class laughed. When I got a picture with them, one mentioned, ” You just make us feel cool.”  Ha. I do what I can.
  • Lookit (above) how beautiful my school looks all lit up and festive! Christmas and Concordia are two things that make me super happy. The combination of the two makes me want to jump up and down like a five year old.
  • Today was payday, and I decided to treat myself with a 20 dollar shopping spree to the mall. (20 dollars gets me two new shirts, a new pair of pink panties and a matching sexy new bra.) On the way out, I couldn’t find my car. Anywhere. I walked up and down the parking lot many times, and was convinced it had just disappeared.  It didn’t help that it was raining. I was cold and sopping wet and distraught. I called my husband panicking. He found it amusing. Things like this happen to me a lot. We argued for a while about calling mall-security to help drive me around. I found this pointless, as I was convinced my car was gone forever. And having the mall-cop drive you around looking for a car you’ve misplaced is just a wee bit embarrassing. I refused, and instead resorted to pouting on the phone while also getting rained on some more. I’m very strategic in situations like this. Husband ended up keeping me on his work phone while calling mall security on his cell-phone. I informed him that this was stupid, because my car was gone. Obviously. He was convinced that I had just walked into a different entrance than I originally thought. Mall-cop  shows up and drives me around for about three minutes. I am equal parts humiliated and excited to spot my car. Husband was right. I parked on the other side of JCPenney’s. Oops. I bashfully tell mall-cop thank-you, hop into my car and call Robby. He chuckles when I tell him what he already knew.  I ask, “Are you mad at me?”  To which he replies, “Nah. I’m used to you.”  That’s good to know.
  • I haven’t been keeping up with the weekly video blog I’m supposed to do. Below, I video blog to tell you that I will be video blogging again soon.

If my brain does explode, at least I was happy and life was eventful beforehand.