Trendy...or not

I came across this post on Buzzfeed via facebook yesterday: 25 Things Mormon Girls Love. I found it quite enlightening. Why? Because I am Mormon, and I am a Girl, and I didn't know I was supposed to love/do some of those things. In fact, there are some of those things that I have stayed far away from.  For those who don't want to link to it, let me relay the list to you, with my commentary.

(Welcome to a Marinda's soapbox post this week. I hope I don't offend anyone, but if I do, I hope you are quick to forgive me.  I will probably say something in this post that will offend you, because most of "you" are Mormon Girls like myself, and you may love some of these things. Just know that this is just me, saying what I think. Also, Kevin woke me up really early this morning and although she went back to bed, I never did, so my usually decent-working filter is kaput today.)

25 Things Mormon Girls Love

1. Pinterest
Okay, true. I do like Pinterest...but I don't know if I love it. I could do with out it most days. I have a mother that is a walking pinterest board, so if I ever really needed inspiration, all I would need to do is go to her. That said, I like looking at the funnies my friends pin and getting new ideas to bring out my crafty/creative side. I do not like feeling like I have to keep up with the Joneses (who must run Pinterest). My family will never eat 100% nutritiously, our home will never be 100% put together, and I can't afford to dress like that. I will NEVER post workouts--seriously, women, some of those workout pictures are borderline pornography, and I really hate seeing it when my husband is sitting next to me, because we often look at Pinterest together for recipe inspiration and a laugh at the end of the day. He doesn't need to be seeing that, and neither do I, no matter how badly you need/want toned arms and legs. End rant.

2. Baby Names
Okay, true, again. I am obsessed with baby names and name meanings. Maybe it is the fiction writer in me. Scott and I will never have enough kids to use all of the names I like. At the same time, however, I had to laugh at the picture that went with this one...because Mormon Girls seriously come up with some of the dumbest most interesting names for their children. Lakynn? Sounds like camping equipment, lady. Your poor child. (And yes, my children will probably all have unique middle names...but there is meaning behind those unusual names, and they are not made up, and most of them involve family/mission memories. So there.)

3. Frozen Yogurt
The only time I have fallen into the "I love Frozen Yogurt" category is when I was on my mission and we went to visit my dear friend Pam in her Health Foods Store in Graham, Texas, and she had  frozen yogurt machine, and so we ate it. A lot. Consquently, I eat it when I am overly emotional (like when we were in the hospital with Kevin), because it feels homey and comforting to me. I am not a fan of Utah frozen yogurt (can you say overpriced?), so I don't feel like this one is true of me.

4. Wearing Neon Workout Clothes to 80s parties
False. I hate 80s parties and avoid them at all costs. I do not own neon work out clothes--in fact, the only "work out" clothes I own are yoga pants (a mommy must) and free t-shirts from various activities. 

5. The Word "Awesome"
I've been known to use it a time or two...but I certainly don't love it. At all. False.

6. Taylor Swift
Enh. I was so over her music about a year after she came out. What could have been okay to listen to once in a while is totally overplayed on the radio now. Do I know all the words? Oh, yeah, probably. Do I want to? No. But it seems that she is never, ever ever (you are singing now, aren't you?) getting off the radio.

7. Diet Coke
Yeah, don't love it. But my mom does. So, um, okay.

8. Fake Mustaches on Sticks
The whole fake mustache thing? COMPLETELY overdone. But that didn't stop us from celebrating Father's Day with a mustache theme, because I still think the mustache fad is slightly adorable. But we used them because my dad actually has a mustache. So it was okay. Mustaches on sticks? I don't really buy into that...but okay. (Why isn't the word "okay" on this list? I use "okay" more than "awesome.")

9. Mason Jars
I believe these are best used for the canned fruit we get from Scott's Mom and Grandma, and they can be occasionally reused to hold fresh flowers. A perfect example of Pinterest overkill (we will get into this again later).

10. Target.
Finally, something I can agree with. I do love Target. Sometimes, though, Target doesn't love me.

11. The Bachelorette.
Watched it once, a long long time ago. One of those things I don't really get...or get into. Here are some shows we do get into at our house: anything HGTV, Splash, Call the Midwife, Downton Abbey (now why the heck wasn't that on this list?!), Once Upon a Time, Lost, Psych, and SportsCenter.

12. Chevrons.
Warning: rant ahead. Somebody will probably be offended. Oh well.
The first time I saw the chevron print used, I thought it was adorable. Thanks to Pinterest and the overwhelming copy-cat everything off the internet trend (I include myself in this sad group), Chevron now needs to die. It is everywhere. It is like hearing a Taylor Swift song on the radio--you can't go more than a few hours in Utah before seeing it again. It was cute the first time, Pinterest, but now...now it is just blah. And in a year or two, it will be out of style, and then the DI will be full of maxi skirts and baby bedding. Maybe I will get to use it in 20 years, when it isn't so common, but for now...for now, Chevrons are ruined for me.

13. Group Dates
Scott and I aren't really group daters. We are lucky if we get to go on a date, period. I don't think group dates are bad--they are really fun, once in a while! Perhaps we are just anti-social, but I don't love these.

14. Cute Handwriting
Okay, maybe in sixth grade was this me. Okay, maybe it still is. When I see people with cute handwriting, sometimes I adopt parts of their writing into my particular style--like loopy l's or curved t's. I feel like handwriting is similar to a person's closet--it isn't "you" if all you are doing is wearing what somebody else owns. Borrowing once in a while is okay. So I guess I'm on the fence about this one, too.

15. Having DTRs.
For those of you who don't know, a "DTR" means "define the relationship." I have had maybe three of these in my life, and the only one that was really worth anything (when Scott and I decided we could maybe date each other after I finished my mission) doesn't really qualify because it was only a question ("Do you think there is a possibility...") and me teasing ("what kind of possibility?") and him choking on his words ("uh...maybe we could date?") and me nodding my head. But I guess we do have DTRs as a married couple, which usually amounts to him telling me that it is okay that I didn't get the dishes done and me thanking him for finally doing them.

16. The San Diego Temple
We went there once. It was gorgeous, yes, but a lot the same as every other Temple.

17. Having a Photography Business on the Side
This one made me laugh. Out loud. How many people do you know with a "photography business"? I know at least a dozen. Probably two. Sometimes I wish I were a photographer, because it seems to be the way to make a little extra cash these days, but then I remind myself that I have other talents and just because everybody else is doing it doesn't mean I have to, even if I think I could be good at it with a little time and money invested. I am grateful for my talented photographer friends--I love seeing the world through their lenses. I am not grateful that facebook and pinterest have made photography such a "thing" because now there is so much pressure to have "cute" "professional" pictures, and those pictures are almost always photoshopped, so how do we really know how pretty her eyes are, when everyone else's eyes are just as blue in  their pictures? Sometimes I like the raw, unedited, candid, point-and-shoot photos best.

18. Pride and Prejudice
Okay, guilty, love it. But I also love the lesser-known Jane Austen works, too. And lots of other writers. So I guess this one does apply to me.

19. The Romney's Marriage
Don't know much about it, but I do appreciate the fact that they have a strong marriage, because that is almost unheard of these days when it comes to politicians and their spouses.

20. Cupcakes
Again, pinterest overkill. My cupcakes look awful. That's not to say that I haven't tried making them, or that I would turn one down if ever offered...in fact, I would probably take two.

21. Lace-trim tank tops.
Only if they are on sale. That said, I own like five of these...so I guess this one applies to me too.

22. Blogs
This is where I stopped laughing (refer to #17), because I am guilty as charged. As Scott reminded me, however, this blog is different than others because I'm not out to make money, just to share my voice. So I guess this is acceptable. I do love my blogging world.

23. The "Evolution of the Swimsuit" by Jessica Rey
So, I never watched this movie. I did read an article about it and check out her website...and I was highly disappointed that all of her swimsuits are for teeny, model-sized girls, of which I am not one, so for lots of us her "modest is hottest" styles would actually show way too much skin (and cleavage, should you be blessed with that).

24. Reminiscing about Girl's Camp
Who doesn't love a good Girl's Camp story? One year, I almost drowned. Another year I got "drunk" on expired apple juice. And yet another year...well, that's enough of that.

25. Inspirational Quotes
Pinterest triumphs once again...but I can't say that I don't like inspirational quotes, because that would go against four years worth of my #24 experiences.

In conclusion, I am a girl and I am Mormon.

Thus we see, however, that I am not super trendy. Some things make me anti-trendy. But there are some things that buzzfeed got right.

I really hate it when the internet knows so much about me.