SEA THE WORLD

The only reason I'm allowing myself to write this post in March about something that happened in DECEMBER is because it's about my job...which, as of this week, I've had for a year. In my mind, that justifies it somewhat.

But let's be real, it actually doesn't.

Working at Chick-Fil-A isn't easy or relaxing but it is pretty wonderful. And in December our boss took us all to Sea World for free, which made up for all the months we had to pay for break food. I guess another reason I'm documenting this here is because this was actually the first time I EVER went on a roller coaster. It only took me 19 years to make it on one without crying hysterically.

The interesting thing about working at Chick-Fil-A, affectionately called "Christian Chicken" or "Chicken Youth Group", is that 80% of the employees are not Christians. I'm actually in the minority there. It's never been an issue, but it's also kind of something we don't talk about at work. That all changed as we buckled in to go up on the first roller coaster. I told the girls next to me "Just so you know, I'm a Christian so I'm probably going to be praying out loud the whole way down." They laughed.

Sure enough, first thing out of my mouth after the big drop?

It wasn't a blood curdling scream.

just a "JESUS SAVE ME!!!!!!!!!!!"

Thankfully Jesus pulled through and I made it through 3 rides and what do you know, it was fun! Should have paid for the photo though because my praying face was PRICELESS. Such a fun day though. You think that we'd be sick of one another after serving chicken together 24/7 but actually, I wouldn't want to go with anyone else.

Chicken forever.
XOXO,
Kryn.

HAPPY CHAUNNYAAA?

Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the universe, who has granted us life, sustained us, and enabled us to reach this occasion.

Hannanuk is an 8 day holiday and It's safe to say that even 8 days of celebrating I still couldn't figure out how to actually spell it.

So why Hanukkah? A lot of my friends were pretty curious. As Christians, we already know the true meaning of Christmas so why celebrate and take part in a religious tradition that is the Jewish alternative for celebrating the messiah?

Honestly, I don't have a deep theological reason. I just kind of wanted too (and the fried potatoes part didn't hurt) and we decided to order a 12 dollar menorah off amazon and go for it. And even though the inexpensive menorah turned out to be kind of a dud and an extreme fire hazard, our house made it through the eight days without burning down via menorah malfunction and our hearts were actually INCREDIBLY blessed from the celebration process.

MERRY, MERRY MEMORIES.

It seems that every year I only get around to writing about Christmas things....a month after Christmas. What can I say, I guess I just love to extend the celebration a bit further! So you can't really be mad at me for that, can you?

HAVE A HOLLY JOLLY JANUARY?

Something like that.

Here's to you.

AN ODE TO ORANGE...

...and the fact that I finally got to experience fall weather that was lower than 80 degrees!

REBECCA AND BRANDON

If you could have seen how badly I was shaking, you would have thought I was the one who had gotten engaged. But no!  I'm just the overly excited teenage photographer got to watch her  high school idol get engaged.

I mean, wouldn't you be shaking too?

Rebecca was everything to us in high school. I vividly remember her complimenting my coral colored cardigan in 8th grade and my best friend and I both wrote about it in our diary because it was such a momentous occasion. We took (literal) notes on all her outfits, she was the queen of belts over cardigans in 2009, and swore that one day, we would be just like her.

Well I mean, I'm 19 now but other than, I haven't really kept up my promise because Rebecca is still light years ahead of me in every respect. When Brandon contacted me about photographing their proposal, the 8th grader in me died and went to heaven. And while the shoot didn't totally go as planned (lighting, locking keys in the car and you know, my hands shaking like a level 5 earthquake was happening) it was still a magical night through and through.

And I'll have you know, I still wear that coral cardigan today. Some things never go out of fashion, especially things that Rebecca says are cute.

PALM BEACH CHIC, PART ONE

It all started on January 1st, 2015. I walked into my closet and as I was deciding what to wear, I also decided that I would renovate my entire closet that day. It was one of my more successful choices (because I ended up staying in my PJ's) and now finally two years later, my room is complete.

A labor of love, nail holes and a whole lot of motivational chocolate.

Keep reading for the scoop!

2016 SUPERLATIVES

What. A. Year.

It's hard to complain about a year like this. Because even though it was incredibly hard, it was equally necessary. A painful cleansing, if you will. And even though the between the two is very blurry at times, I'll respect the fact that this blog isn't a full blown emo diary (yet!) and instead talk about the very good things that 2016 brought me. These are just some of the things that brought a little joy to my day

Hashbrowns are 100% involved.

BLOOPERS OF 2016

TBH 2016 was like an entire blooper reel. But alas, here are the great favorites.

It's not easy being this uncoordinated or un-photogenic. But when life gives you lemons (or bad posing intuition), you just gotta take photos anyway.

Bloopers of 2015
Bloopers of 2014

And what a tradition we have started! I can't wait to carry this one on with my cats and grand-cats.

KRYN GOES TO COLLEGE: THE UPDATE

I told her I was taking a gap year and her response wasn't quite what I expected.
"Enjoy your last year at home!" she said, "It's so special."

I laughed really hard. And then I cried.

But I cried a lot harder than I laughed.

LISA COMES HOME

Never mind the fact that her home town is actually in Germany (and that I actually drove through it last summer but didn't have time to stop but alas) LISA FINALLY CAME HOME!  

You may remember Lisa from blog posts past. She came and stayed with mutual friend a couple summers ago and we hung out 24/7. This visit, she stayed with me and it felt SO right having her in our home. Having a car (and more freedoms) this time made it so much more fun, and different. Even though she wasn't here for very long, the house seems so empty without her sweet, curious presence.

Last year I took an unbelievable amount of photos of Lisa (Remember when we got donuts? Or went to the beach? And went to church? Me too.) This time wasn't quite the same, between work and class and general social fiasco's, we didn't have much time for a photoshoot. But the day she left we headed down to the park for 20 minutes and well...it made up for all the lost time ;)

ISNT SHE SO PRETTY!?

Ugh.

IT REALLY WAS A WONDERFUL REUNION.  We hung out with Mary, the OG, and watched movies and stayed up late talking. Oh and the beach! It wouldn't be a proper time with Lisa without a little tanning session (even though 20 minutes in the sun can't make up for a whole semester inside, but we can dream.)

These photos represent a blog post in it of itself but that will come later. For now, know that we almost snuck into a bar at midnight in downtown Orlando. But we opted for cookies instead; a good safe, homeschooler choice it was. 

I also happened to have a white house sugar cookie house kit in my closet (#justgirlythings) so we made the white house Trump themed. Apparently we are prophets because this was months before the election and who would have guessed our joke would have come true. Honestly I'd rather have him in a sugar cookie white house than the actual one but alas. America.

And on a final note, if you've been following along for a while, I have the urge to explain how to pronounce her name. You might have been reading it as "Lisa" with an incredibly stale white bread pronunciation (don't worry, that was me for like 6 months. You're not alone.) Her name is actually pronounced "LEEZA". Now you know! 

I love you Lisa.

Come back!

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Sugar Cane Village

When you hear "Sugarcane Village" don't you picture a sweet little village filled with gingerbread houses and sugar cookie inhabitants carrying sugared gumdrops to and fro?

Oh okay. Just me.

In reality, it's nothing like that. Though the children were tan and extra sweet, it was an incredible culture shock to set foot in the batey. I will spare you my attempt at imitating a National Geographic Documentary (and you can read more about Dominican Batey's here) but essentially  they are the poorest villages in the DR. Brought over from Haiti and having been promised stable jobs, the workers find themselves unable to escape the vicious cycle of the sugar cane season, unreasonably low pay and, grueling 14 hour work days.

So yeah. 

Please slap me if I complain about anything in my life ever again.

the whole journey is below....

ADULTHOOD SURVIVAL KIT

Adulthood entails voting, smoking, paying bills, eating healthy/veggies, paying taxes, worrying, leaving zits alone, parallel parking properly, tattoos, getting excited about vacuum cleaners and remembering to take your vitamins. And nothing says "Welcome to adulthood, you'll be fine!" like a survival kit.

Though very sarcastic in nature, this kit was well intended. And while I know I'm just a few seconds into my adulthood adventure, an adulthood survival kit (one with real money instead of fake money, preferably) would have been very helpful. But for a friends 18th birthday (and a desperately needed outlet for my creative energy), the not-so-helpful adulthood survival kit was essential.

BAND-AIDS...

used best for cuts, scratches and broken hearts.

SOME MEDS...

as in candy, because it's not that kind of box.

ADULTHOOD IS PRICELESS...

jk its rly expensive, so we included some fake money to

 help and also coupons for a free profile photo.

EMERGENCY SOCK STASH... 

Because socks always go missing and that's a 

fact of life all adults must accept.

PRESCRIPTION FOR HOW TO WIN A GIRL...

don't worry, talking to her dad first is a part of the treatment plan.

A LIGHTER...

strictly for lighting birthday candles and roman candles, 

even though legal lung cancer is now an option.

So if you ever find yourself with an abundant supply of tick tacks, red paper and red stickers, one fabulous white gel pen, fake money, a lighter, socks, bandages, candy and great life advice (Eat your veggies, pay your bills, and call your mom once a month.), and a friend entering adulthood, maybe you should make an adulthood-survival kit too.

And make me one while you're at it. Because I need all the help I can get.

MID-SUMMER STATE OF THE UNION.

I'm sure you've all been wondering, what is she going to do with her life?? And for those of you who automatically assumed that I would continue living in my over-saturated, iced coffee la-la land...well you're only half right. 

This post was originally going to be about my bathrobe that I love other mid-summer favorites. But in the course of opening my computer and logging in (jk, who even has time to log out these days?) it morphed into a mid-summer state of the union. But I'll probably talk about the bathrobe at some point because its really comfy.

Last year when my parents proposed a gap year, I was vehemently apposed the idea of taking a year away from social events for a calm interlude between high school and college. Which apparently God thought my opinion was funny because lol, here I am. And not only that, but after the dramatic turn of events that ensued this past school year, nothing sounds better than not having to worry about decorating a dorm room or climbing yet another social ladder.

So what am I doing? I'M STAYING HOME.

That's hard, humbling and not what I want in the least. But it's what God has for me and moreover, it's what I need. I need time to heal, time to grow and time to rest, both physically and in God's grace.   50% of my friends are leaving for school, the rest are embarking on the great journey that is senior year.  Through this whole process I have come to realize that my journey is my own. Which sounds very cliche and obnoxiously new age but it's true! What is right for one friend might not be right for me. A choice they make in their life might not be what God has planned for me.

And that it's okay that life is that way.
And I'm learning to be okay with that. 

I picked these photos for this post because they're cute and also, significant. Because, during that week, I realized that serving God is less about what I pictured and more about how I fit into His big picture. And thankfully for my instagram feed, He has me in my over-saturated la-la land for a little while longer.

PS: Previous state of the union, oh so official.

THE GREAT CHOP

The one thing (besides math) that I'll never understand? How girls get attached to their hair.

I'm not sure if I'm in the minority or the majority or if anyone actually cares, but it's always confused me. There are girls who can't imagine anything other than long, luscious locks and other girls who are  at peace with pixie cuts. And while I threatened to shave my head for a good long while, (drama queen), I ended up with a mild, mid length chop that feels just right and only slightly rebellious.

I've been growing my hair out since I was fifteen for the sole purpose of having a drastic haircut. Talk about desperate for attention!  My hairstylist, bless his heart, commented on it, "I've never seen someone so excited!" And every time he thought he was finished, I'd have him cut off more. It was incredibly thrilling (and oddly cathartic) to see what had once been my sweaty pony tail or my dutch braids in a pile on the floor.

So if your life is ever stressful, forget the long walk on the beach or the relaxing bubble bath, go get your hair cut off!

The first documentation of my new, improved, and much less dead hair was at the local art museum. The museum, though ambitious for our sleepy town,  was kind of a flop because we do not live in an artistically inclined area of Florida/The USA/The World and it was also at least 1083403 degrees outside (and inside) and I wore jeans.

But we had fun face-swapping with the pieces and pondering what deep emotions the artist was trying to convey through the comical and perplexing portraits that graced the gallery walls.

But mostly face-swapping.

THANK YOU TO....The random local artist for so 

many incredible face swaps and a killer snapchat story.

THANK YOU TO...Matt, my hairstylist, for doing his best to 

set me up with the cute boy in the chair across from me.

THANK YOU TO....Mom and dad for the $$$ so I didn't

 have to wing this haircut and pull a midnight-youtube-tutorial-fueled chop.

THANK YOU TO....Sarah for documenting this adventure and for 

enduring such an interesting and haunting museum with me.

AND FINALLY....Thank you to Jesus for not making me be attached to my hair. 

Life is way to short to fall in love with split ends. 

Amen.