2013 Was Big

To say that 2013 was a massively important year would be a huge understatement. So much has happened in one tumultuous, roller coaster of a year. I laughed a lot, I cried a lot and I learned a lot about myself and just how strong love is, no matter the distance.

• Kris joined the army
• I started a blog
• We got married
• Kris graduated boot camp
• I traveled to Oklahoma
• I learned what it is to be a milso
• I had two jobs
• I started a new school
• I've met some incredible people
• I solidified my close relationship with my mom 
• I got a new, better relationship with my sister
• I got a volunteer position at Little Smiles
• Kris surprised me and it was the surprise of a lifetime
• We had our first Christmas as a married couple

So 2013, thank you for all of the joy, laughter and tears that you brought me. It's been a heck of a year but I'm thankful for that because I've come out so much stronger. I'm ready for you, 2014! I can't wait to see what you have in store for me! 

-Chelsea 

Christmas Recap!

I hope that you all had a wonderful holiday! I know that I did!

My dad's side of the family always celebrates on Christmas Eve and my mom's side celebrates on Christmas Day. So it's always worked out rather well. This year, of course, that tradition continued and my dad's side traveled over an hour to visit my uncle and aunt, who hosted Christmas Eve Dinner.

My dad's family is so large that if we tried to buy everyone nice gifts, we'd all end up broke. So a few years ago, we decided to pull everyone's names out of a hat and everyone buys the person that they pick a really nice gift. This year, I got my Uncle Dave and I bought him a watch. I was really afraid of his reaction because I spent forever trying to pick something out but much to my surprise, he LOVED it! So I was super happy! My Aunt Patty got my name and she got me personalized Christmas ornaments for Kristopher and I. She also bought me a jacket that I asked for but said that she had a problem with the company, so it'll be a bit late. It's okay though, it's Florida. I'm not in dyer need of a jacket, hehe. :)

On Christmas Day, it was my turn to cook Christmas dinner... for the first time. My mom started hosting Christmas dinner when she was my age, so she said that it was my turn to learn the ropes. I spent hours in the kitchen preparing my family's favorite meals, with my mother teaching me all of her perfected recipes. But I found it to be really fun, actually and I got some amazing presents! My favorite gift was a videocamera that I had asked my family for months ago and I thought that they had forgotten about it. So imagine my delight when I opened that present! Kris got me some really beautiful jewelry, his family got me an Origami Owl necklace and I got Kris a personalized bracelet from Things Remembered, which turned out magnificent!

Christmas morning! 

From Kristopher! :)

It was a really bittersweet feeling when the night was over because it'll probably be my last Christmas living in my home state. Who knows where Kristopher and I will be next Christmas? Next year, I hope to be hosting Christmas from my own home and having our families come to us. We'll see!

All I know is, Christmas is a time for giving, laughter and making memories and this year brought all 3!

-Chelsea

My Year in Review

Kris came home a day early and surprised me! Little did I know that my whole family was involved! There will be another blog post about it later but my phone is acting up and I can't download the pictures. But as we're sitting on the couch together, drinking hot cocoa and watching Disney Christmas movies (perfection), I thought I'd tell you about my year in review!

-January- Kris joined the army and so began the most tumultuous yet wonderful journey of our lives.

-February-April- Two words: wedding planning! Enough said!

May- The wedding, honeymoon and Kris left for boot camp.

June-July- I worked and tried to keep myself busy while Kris was gone.

August-September- I started my new university.

October- My family and I made our Alice and The Tweedles costumes and went to Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party!

November- Kris and I had officially been together for 3 years and my family had its first nontraditional Thanksgiving.

December- I finished this semester at school and Kris came home!

I gotta go take advantage of the time that Kristopher is home! See you soon!

-Chelsea

The House That Built Me

Have you ever heard Miranda Lambert's song, "The House That Built Me"? The one where she sings about visiting the house that she grew up in and all of the emotions that she feels? Well that song perfectly describes what I'm feeling right now.

Let me explain.

When I was 15, my parents separated and sold our house. Now, my parents built that house, so they were the original owners. That was our house in every sense of the word. Mine and Kelly's hand prints were cemented by the pool, our heights were recorded in Kelly's room and almost everything that was put together in that house, was made by my dad and his friends, even the roof. When my family and I moved out, it literally killed me. No other place in the world was ever going to be my true home; I had a very strong emotional attachment to it and I loved it with every fiber of my being.

I don't live far away from the house, maybe 15-20 minutes but I still never make the effort to drive out there. I knew that the new owners would change everything and it just wouldn't feel right. But today I got a haircut from a friend of the family and she lives 2 blocks away from my old house. So curiosity got the best of me and I made that dreaded turn onto my old street.

Not much had changed about the neighborhood itself. But my old house was extremely different. A new fence enclosed the front yard, a large screen patio encased the backyard, the house was painted different colors, a new playground had been built and the yard had swamp-buggies and other large vehicles strewn across the front yard. It didn't look or feel like home anymore. My heart broke as I stared at this newfound place and a part of me cringed as I imagined what they must've changed about the inside.

I took my first steps in that house, I said my first word there and so did my sister. My mom taught us to swim there. We played soccer and football with our dad there. My dad built a playground for us there. All of my most loved and cherished memories were there. And it just wasn't the same driving past the house without our Christmas decorations there. There were no gingerbread houses and candy canes covering the yard, or giant blown-up snowmen.

I know that things change and I knew that it would make me sad to see my house like that. But I just always imagined my parents living there their entire lives and bringing my kids to see where I grew up. Of course, that's not an option and hasn't been for 5 years but it still hurts. I hope that the children growing up in that house love it just as much as I did and still do and that the parents appreciate it as much as my parents did.

Sorry that this post is a bit depressing.

-Chelsea

Beautiful Disaster

I hadn't heard of this book until I found a review of it online at About That Story. The synopsis and the 4/5 star review intrigued me and I immediately put it on hold at the library.

The story follows Abby and Travis' very complicated and unlikely relationship. Abby is a goody two-shoes with a dark past which she is constantly trying to leave behind. She and her friend America (I could not get over the name while I was reading this) moved far away from their old lives to Eastern University, where America quickly begins a relationship with Shepley. Shepley's roommate and cousin is Travis "Mad Dog" Maddox, who participates in underground fighting and is known for having constant one night stands and treating girls like dirt.

Enter Abby Abernathy, who Travis can't seem to resist. Abby knows that they are all wrong for each other but agrees to place a bet with him. If Travis wins, Abby has to live with him for a month and if Abby wins, he has to stay abstinent for a month. Either way, the loser is going to have a tough time. When Abby loses the bet, she and Travis start a very tumultuous relationship and realize that even though they drive each other crazy, they can't seem to stay away from each other.

I'm going to give this book a 3/5 star rating. When I first started it, I could not put it down but about halfway through it, it just started to get monotonous and old. The concept was good, I just think that it was taken a bit too far. Travis is a bad boy with a good heart but a terrible temper. And although I am a sucker for a bad boy gone good, the way that he tried to possess Abby as if she was a piece of property really bothered me. I mean, I love it when guys are a little jealous because it shows that they actually care about losing their girlfriends. But insecurity is a big turn off. A guy couldn't look at Abby without Travis kicking their ass and he had some serious issues that he really needed to work on. And no matter how bad he acted or how mad he was, in the end, Abby just kept coming back.

As far as Abby goes, she keeps pushing Travis away from the beginning, claiming that she wants to escape her past and blah blah blah. But even though we find out what was so bad about her life, she never fully explained to Travis why she kept pushing him away. She explained to us readers but never gave Travis the answers he deserved. She just kept him guessing and nothing he ever did or said seemed to be good enough. I may not have liked everything he did or said but at least he was man enough to apologize. She could've at least thrown the poor guy a bone.

I loved America and Shepley, who were big supporting characters in the story and I feel that the characters were well-written and complex. I did feel that the ending was a big rushed but generally speaking, it was a pretty good read.

Oh and Travis called Abby "Pigeon" and the entire time, all I could think about was how Tramp called Lady that same name in Lady and the Tramp.

Have you read this book? What are your thoughts? Do you have any recommendations?

-Chelsea

Sunday Social

This week I decided to partake in Neely's Sunday Social! I've never done it before, so I thought that it would be fun!

1. What is the wallpaper on your cell phone? A wedding photo that my cousin took.

2. What do you keep beside your bed? A book, my phone and my laptop. All of my necessities, basically.

3. What is your least favorite chore? The dishes, no competition. I wish that I was like Snow White and animals would just do my chores for me. :)

4. If you could eliminate one thing from your daily routine, what would it be? Homework!

5. What do you do to vent anger? I'll write, cry or scream. It depends on how angry I am.

6. What is your favorite holiday of the year and why? Christmas! Because of all of the movies, the food, the presents and being with my family! The hot cocoa and good cheer are also bonuses! 

That wraps it up! If you'd like to participate, head over to Neely's blog and link up! 

Happy Sunday!

-Chelsea 

Wedding Magic

Late into last night, I was glued to Patricia Coughlin's story, Wedding Magic. Recently, I've been having a lot of bad luck finding books that I've liked. So you can imagine my happiness when I delved into Coughlin's story and fell head-over-heels for the story!

The story follows Sophie Bennett who, along with her two stepsisters, runs a successful wedding planning business. Sophie is the miracle worker of the group, always getting the most outrageous demands for her brides and making it look easy. But when Shelby Archer hires her company, her skills are put to the test. Shelby is getting married in less than two months, wants a hemp dress, a completely green wedding and most importantly, to be married at the "Princess House."

Sophie is then told to get the owner of the "Princess House", Owen Winters, to agree to hosting the wedding. But Owen is less than receptive to the idea. He hates weddings, thinks love doesn't exist and wants nothing more than to be left alone. But Owen changes his mind when Sophie acknowledges the supernatural force that's been living in his house. Over time, they find out that the ghost is Ivy Halliday, the woman who used to own this house, who was supposed to be married in the house and who would do anything to stop this wedding.

And boy does she try. But while Sophie and Owen are trying to find some way to make this work, their connection to each other is undeniable and they both have to acknowledge their feelings for one another, no matter how much they try to hide them.

I really loved this story. I'm a sucker for a good paranormal romance. I had never heard of this book and I just happened to stumble across it in the library. But I adored Sophie and Owen. Their characters were real and relatable, both experiencing some sort of pain and trauma in their past, which makes them afraid for their futures. They are both stubborn and won't admit just how strong their feelings are. And of course, Ivy's character was very entertaining. I found myself tearing through the pages, just to see what she would do next to stop the wedding. But she ended up being a much more complicated and layered character than just the ghost who haunts the house.

I highly recommend this story, especially if you like reading about the supernatural.

Onto the next book! Do you have any recommendations?

-Chelsea

Lance's First Trip to Disney World!

Hello, everyone! It's been a while! Well... actually 5 days but I try to blog daily, so it feels like a while.

But I'm back now! I took a break for Thanksgiving and to go to Disney World! If you've been following me for a while, then you'd know that my little sister, Kelly, is dating a boy named Lance. Now, Lance is a good kid, except for one thing: until Friday, he had never been to Disney World!

I took it upon myself to make sure that he went A.S.A.P.! So the day after Thanksgiving, we drove up to Orlando at 6 in the morning and I took Kelly and Lance to the Magic Kingdom!

Buzz Lightyear:

I won! 

We ate lunch at the Tomorrowland Terrace, with a view of the Dream Along With Mickey show!

                                                               The People Mover:

Much needed relaxation!

Aren't they cute?

In line to meet Minnie and Daisy:

  Kelly LOVES The Little Mermaid! She was so excited to find "dinglehopper" hairbrushes!

Our view of the Celebrate A Dream Come True Parade:

They had high school marching bands put on a pre-show for the guests.

A Photopass Cast Member took little girls out onto Main Street when it was cleared out and took "princess pictures" of them in front of the castle. It was pure Disney magic to see their faces light up like that!

The parade:

J. Worthington Foulfellow came up and scared Kelly. It was too funny!

Aladdin is my FAVORITE prince! 

And these 4 have a special place in my heart, especially since we were Alice in Wonderland characters for Halloween!

                                      Big Thunder! (Taken on the train ride to Frontierland.)

Dole whips are a necessity during every trip!

During the flag retrieval ceremony, the Dapper Dans sing the National Anthem and God Bless America in the presence of a veteran. It was one of the most beautiful ceremonies that I've ever witnessed. The National Anthem is, of course, a very beautiful and significant song but now that I'm an army wife, I can honestly say that I truly understand how important it is and just how much weight it carries. 

Ariel's Undersea Adventure:

The Little Mermaid ride/castle is truly one of Disney's best works in the park. Bravo, Disney!

The back of the castle.

Cinderella's Wish:

(Progressively lighting the castle, part by part.)

Eating dinner at Pinocchio's Village:

                                                      The Main Street Electrical Parade:

I am in love with this picture!

I LOVE Snow White! 

                                                                          Wishes: 

It's not a great picture but that's Tinkerbell flying across the Magic Kingdom!

The next day, Kelly wanted to take a picture with the Ariel statue at our hotel.

I made reservations at the O'hana Best Friend's Character Breakfast for the three of us and it was AMAZING! It's at The Polynesian Resort and the food is served family style. It was definitely worth every penny!

The view from our table.

Pluto loved Lance. :)

We took the monorail to the Grand Floridian and the Contemporary. 

The Grand Floridian: 

The Contemporary:

The trip was so much fun and a definite success! Kelly and I were so glad that Lance loved Disney and he is already asking to go back! Hopefully, one day soon we can. Maybe we'll go to Hollywood Studios? I'm exhausted from the trip, which is a good thing. If you're not tired when you leave Disney, you didn't do it right! :)

I hope you guys enjoyed the pictures! I'm glad to be back in the blogging world!

-Chelsea