First Love

Ah, isn't this a bittersweet topic? I remember it like it was yesterday. Wait, I'm only 20 years old, it feels like it was yesterday. Actually, it was more like a few years ago if I'm going to be more accurate.

I remember the first time that I laid eyes on him, my first real crush. (I say "real crush" because it was the first time that a crush lasted more than a day. When you're a kid, you get over things really quickly.) I used to get picked on by the other girls in my class because they found out about this crush but I didn't care. He was the cutest and most adorable boy that I had ever seen. I crushed on him for months before we finally spoke; and it was only after a girl in my class told him about my crush that we did speak to each other.

The next thing that I knew, we were best friends and we were inseparable. One of the best childhood memories that I have is when he told me that he had a crush on me too. I still remember that moment quite vividly as well but that's for another blog post. So, doing what best friends do, we got really close and eventually we fell pretty hard for each other. Like every other love-struck teenage couple, at one point, we thought that we were soul mates that would last forever.

Unfortunately, we grew up and grew apart, as people do. So we broke up and went our separate ways. Since the breakup, we've had limited communication and I wish that it never came to that because we used to be so close; but alas, I cannot change the past and now that I'm married and we're both in college, I don't see that friendship rekindling. Nonetheless, I appreciate every wonderful experience, memory and self-esteem boost that he has given me and I'm truly grateful that I've had the honor and privilege of knowing him and his family. So here's to him getting his own happily ever after.

I wish you every happiness,

Chelsea

P.S. I'll never forget you.

I Love My Name

I don't know about you guys but I love my name. With the large array of names that are available and used nowadays, I am extremely lucky to have a name as simple and beautiful as Chelsea. The only thing that can get annoying is when I meet someone for the first time and I say, "Hi, my name is Chelsea," and they reply, "Like Bill Clinton's daughter?" So it's not that big of a deal but so many other people are not that lucky.

Take something that has been deemed "relevant" (and I use that term loosely) in pop culture, like the baby name North West. While some people may thin that's cute or clever, most people don't care for it and kids can be cruel, especially when making fun of other kids' names. So I fear for the bullying that this child may receive because of the name that her parents chose for her. I am obviously not going to make fun of an innocent newborn baby. I'm just referring to the negative publicity that Kim and Kanye have received since the name was announced.

As a more local example, one day my dad told me that he met a kid named Austin Powers that absolutely hated his name because of the constant jokes and ridicule that he received on a daily basis. In my opinion, there's no way for a person to go through his life, hating their own name. Don't get me wrong, name your child whatever you choose, this is all just my opinions and views.

So I've been very fortunate that my name is simple and doesn't rhyme with anything negative and whose nickname is "Chels," which is also short and sweet. So while all of this Kim and Kanye baby news has been floating around the TV and internet, I thought I'd take a minute to appreciate the respect that my parents enabled me by giving me a normal name; so thanks Mom and Dad, I love ya. :)

Get to Know Me!

Since this is my second blog, I never really thought about introducing myself again but I recently realized that if you didn't read my first blog, you would have no idea who I am. I want to be more than the person on the other end of your computer. I want a real connection with my readers, especially the ones that don't know me personally. So, if you care to learn more about the voice behind these blogs, read on!



                                                                                     This picture sums me up pretty well. :)

My name is Chelsea and I am an army wife, which is a very important fact to know about me. I have dreamed of being a writer since I discovered the written word and I love living life with a young and positive attitude.

15 Random Facts:

1. I am a "Disnerd" and I'm proud!

2. I work as a secretary in a flower shop.

3. I am a hopeless romantic and I love cheesy romance movies/novels.

4. I am extremely athletic and have played recreational sports for as long as I can remember.

5. I love to bake.

6. I hardly ever wear makeup because I believe in natural beauty.

7. I used to have a really low self-esteem and I have been working really hard to overcome that.

8. I love corny, stupid jokes.

9. I am an extremely loyal friend.

10. I am still obsessed with Harry Potter books and movies.

11. I love the Spanish language and I love that I get to speak it every day at work.

12. I want to be a mom so badly one day but know that I have to wait a few years before that's a possibility.

13. I am a Multimedia Studies student.

14. I love to have Full House and Grey's Anatomy marathons.

15. I am an introvert and I'm proud of that as well.

To get to know me more, continue to read my blogs or follow me on other social media sites if you want!

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Unnecessary Rudeness

Today I had to call a doctor's office, which is a pretty mundane activity, however, the thought of it made me cringe. Why is that? Because the receptionists at the office are horribly rude! Call me crazy but when they take jobs as receptionists, they should expect to be answering calls and dealing with people all day; so it's not as if I was making these people go out of their way by calling the office. However, this is the case every single time that I call this office, so it's not even a fluke that I can easily brush off without a second thought.

Years ago, my family and I changed doctors because we were tired of their horribly low standards for employee etiquette but I needed some information from them and every time that I dial their number, I have to mentally prepare myself for what I'm going to have to deal with. I absolutely hate it because it's not as if I should be preparing for battle just to call a doctor's office but that's how it feels.

Now, I'm a secretary at a flower shop and before that, I worked in customer service at a local grocery store. So I know what it's like to answer phones all day. It's not difficult but you do get the occasional rude person on the phone or the customer who was dissatisfied with their service. Hey, it happens. However, no matter how rude that person is, I never give them the same treatment back.

Call me old fashioned but I believe in common courtesy and I think that there are so many people in the world who have forgotten what customer service really is. It's almost as if it dishonors them when I have to take them off of their high horse, bring them back down to reality and force them to remember that they are not as special as they think they are. I mean, they're not the Queen of England of anything; they're regular people just like me. If they weren't, they'd be the ones having their employees answering the phones, right?

I don't think that it's that much to ask for someone to be pleasant or agreeable when you need help and you have to speak to them over the phone. If they hate their jobs so much, they should quit or get an attitude adjustment. If I had been rude to them, I might think that it would warrant the behavior to an extent but to be rude for the sake of being rude is just unnecessary and changing small behaviors like this one at a time will help make the world a better place. Until then, I really hope that I don't ever have to call that office again.

How to: Save Money at Disney World

As someone that is a self-proclaimed "Disnerd", I know quite a lot about Disney and one of the most important things that I know about it is that it's expensive. I am also quite frugal, which allows me to be able to go to Disney with my husband and still have an amazing time while on a budget. So if you are looking for a few tips that will save you some money, you've come to the right place.

If you live in Florida:

• Get an annual pass! My husband and I have the weekday pass which is just over $200. We pay a monthly rate of $10 and are able to go to Disney every few weeks. Tickets for a 1-Day visit with no park hopper option run around $89 per person plus tax, so for the price of 2 days, you can go all year with the exception of some block-out dates. But here's the thing, the block-out dates are the busiest days of the year and trust me, nobody wants to go then. Plus, you can use the passes for merchandise and some restaurants (It saves 10%).
• If you don't want the annual passes, make sure to get the Florida Resident Rates! If they are unavailable when you call Disney, call back again before your trip to see if they are available and then have the cast member lower your room rates. There are a limited number of Florida Resident Rate rooms, so call ahead to make sure that you get them! My family has done this a few times and every dollar helps.
• Stay at a value resort! I love moderate and deluxe resorts as much as the next person but when I go to Disney, I go for the parks, not the hotels. So to me, it isn't worth it to pay over $400 a night when all I'm going to do at the hotel is sleep. Plus, if you have little kids, the photo opportunities at the All-Star Resorts are better than French Quarters. Little kids want pictures with Mr. Potato Head, not alligators. This tip could also apply for someone from out of state as well!

General tips: 

• Bring your own snacks and drinks to the hotel! When my family and I go to Disney, we pack things like chips, sodas and water bottles to keep in the room so that we don't have to buy $15 worth of food from the food court every time we get hungry. So go to the local supermarket and get some food before you go! You'll be glad you did!
• Buy the souvenir cups! Disney offers souvenir cups in the hotel food courts for about $14 and they are for free refills throughout your stay at the hotel. Drinks cost over $2 a pop and you'll save much more money using the reusable cups because when you're out at the pool, you probably won't feel like walking all the way back to your room just for a drink and the pool is right next to the food court. 
• Bring food to the parks! Disney will let you bring in your own food with just a few restrictions. They're pretty reasonable requests, like no glass jars, no sharp objects, etc. So bring some Ziploc bags of some snacks and some water bottles to carry in a backpack and you're good to go! 
• Bring ponchos! When it rains at Disney ponchos can get really expensive and become a necessity. So go to your local Dollar Store and get some beforehand, so that you don't have to spend a lot of money to keep your kids dry. Plus, you don't want to spend the money that you could spend on a churro or a Mickey doll on a poncho. 
• If you have small children, bring your own strollers! Disney does provide stroller rentals but it is much more sensible to not pay the extra money if you don't have to.
• Take the bus! Although it does become a hassle to wait for the bus sometimes, it isn't worth paying $15 to park your car and have to walk through that massive parking lot at the end of the day. You'll be tired enough and the buses are complimentary because you paid to stay on Disney property. (This tip is for people that choose to stay at Disney resorts only, not at resorts such as a Hilton in the Orlando area.)
• If it is your birthday, wear a pin! Sometimes you'll be lucky enough to get some free stuff depending on the cast members and where you are! There are also some free samples of food around the bakeries on Main Street!

I really hoped that I helped some of you guys out! If you have any more money-saving suggestions, comment below and share them with everyone! We could all use a little help saving some money without sacrificing our Disney Magic! Have a magical week everyone!

Chelsea 

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Honking

If you are a girl, you have probably experienced that awkward or inappropriate moment where a guy subjects you to a humiliating act because he thinks that you're sexy. For me, these moments are summed up pretty well through honking and the "wolf whistle."

Today I was walking into my office when a man in the parking lot came up behind me, started slowing down, smiled at me creepily and honked at me while saying, "What's up good lookin'?" Now I don't know what goes through a man's mind while these moments go on but it obviously different than what goes through mine. The way that I see it is, either the man thinks that what he is doing is perfectly acceptable because he thinks that we girls enjoy that kind of attention or he simply doesn't care because he doesn't have a high opinion of women. Whichever one it is, I don't really care. I just think that it's disgusting. It puts us women on the spot, it's awkward and I can only speak for myself, but I always feel a bit afraid. I wonder what the man will do when I ignore them because they can all handle it differently. Will he continue? Will he get out of the car and hurt me? Is he armed? These thoughts all race through my mind every single time, no matter what.

Now I don't dress scantily and I don't show a lot of skin. I believe in being conservative; plus, I'm married. So it's not as if I'm half-naked on the side of the road. I don't know exactly how many times that this has happened to me but it isn't something that has gotten easier with time. So while I was thinking of that man's rude act this morning, I started thinking of a video that Carrie Hope Fletcher did on YouTube about men "wolf whistling" at her and how disgusting that she thinks it is that women are still whistled at like dogs. So rather than steal her material, since what we're talking about has some similar features, I will link to her video below.

If you are someone that partakes in either of these acts, stop it. It is demeaning to women and it is not something that makes us feel sexy. In fact, when someone does them to me, I feel cheap. It's the 21st century and we have evolved past this. If you think a girl is attractive, you go up to talk to her and tell her that she is beautiful. If you're not willing to do that, just get back in the car and get away. It's not worth your time and it's certainly not worth the girls' time.

Wolf Whistle
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The Pressures of Being a Girl

Let's be real. Girls are expected to put themselves through much more than boys are in order to be deemed "good looking" or "appropriate." In fact, girls are not only expected but encouraged to spend hundreds and even thousands of dollars on beauty products to make them look prettier. The new definition of beautiful has to do with how much you can get instead of being based on working with what you already have. Unfortunately, natural beauty seems to be a thing of the past.

However, there are girls that grew up not wanting to be a part of this phenomenon. Take me for example. When I was growing up, my mother encouraged me to put forth some effort into my appearance from doing things like putting on makeup every morning to doing new hairstyles. It was never anything extreme and she always encouraged me to know that I was beautiful without it but I could always enhance my beauty through these processes. But I was rebellious for some reason and I never did anything to make myself look any better. Do I regret that? I don't know. Some part of me does because it put some strain on my relationship with my mom for a temporary amount of time. Part of me doesn't because I still encourage people to hold onto their natural beauty because no matter what any magazine article or TV ad says, every girl is beautiful no matter her shape or size.

Now this isn't something that is a part of my normal train of thought, so let me explain where this is coming from. I recently got a job at a local flower shop and upon learning that I had the job, I asked about what I was required to wear. My boss is not very strict and all she asked was that I look "cute". That was, of course, fine with me because I could basically wear whatever I wanted and coming from two previous jobs which required ugly uniforms, I was so glad to be able to choose what I wore to work. However, I wasn't sure what her definition of "cute" was, so I took it upon myself to buy some new clothing.

I wound up going to a few different stores and buying new shoes and dresses. I don't wear dresses ever, so this is obviously a very foreign concept to me. However, when I think of what people are expected to wear that's "cute", I think of girls in pretty dresses. Now this may seem like I'm over-thinking this and in reality, I probably am. But normally, I wear jean shorts and tank tops on a daily basis and if I walked into a flower shop and that's what the secretary was wearing, I wouldn't use them for whatever service that I needed. It's just not professional.

I also hate spending money, especially on myself, so spending all of that money on new clothes was something way out of the ordinary. And I did that because of what I knew society deemed as "cute". I still don't even know what my boss' definition of that word is and I'll probably never ask because I just bought all of these new outfits. I do like the outfits but never in a million years would I have bought them if not for work; I probably wouldn't have gone shopping for another few weeks either. I typically only go when I'm desperate for new clothes, if I'm going to be honest. I just hate spending money that much.

But as I'm sitting here painting my nails so that I look more presentable for work tomorrow, I was thinking to myself, What are you doing? You would never normally do this. Why are you doing this? And to answer those questions, I'm doing it because I feel as if it's what I'm supposed to do, not because it's something that I want to do and that is where the real problem lies. Whether it is someone plucking their eyebrows, getting implants, putting on makeup, whatever it is, so many girls do it because they feel that society deems that it is necessary for them to be beautiful.

I'm not saying that if you wear makeup or have implants that there is anything wrong with that; there isn't. I'm just saying this is more of a general consensus. We girls should be free to look however we want and wear whatever we want without the judgment of anyone else. I don't normally rant on my blogs, so I actually can't believe that I'm going to post this. :)

Just remember girls, no matter what anyone else says: you're all beautiful.

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My First Blog

Instagram Round Up

Follow me on Instagram: @soundslikechelseaslife and follow my other blog: soundslikechelseaslife.blogspot.com

If you have not read this book, you should!

1000 hits on my first blog! So grateful! 

I'm missing my man while he's at boot camp!

Playing some old school Kingdom Hearts but too bad that the photo turned out really bad!

This was behind my head at an Irish restaurant...

My walk down the aisle.

I love this photo just as much as the last one.

Girls night out with my little sister!

Bought our VIP passes for Playlist Live 2014!

Yep, that's me. :)

2 princesses!

Hi!!!

Disney's Caribbean Beach Resort!

The first wedding dress that I tried on... I hate it! 

This was the second one and I really liked it!

I almost bought this one but I love the one that I actually bought way more! 

Ew! Who would eat that?

Girls night out with the little sister!

Stories about my childhood!

Hollywood Beach!

An edited wedding picture that my sister did. This is a picture of a picture, so the quality isn't as nice as the original. 

Just love yourself as you are. :)

And don't forget it! 

I'm "That" Friend

"I'm that friend that has to walk behind the group when the path isn't big enough. I'm that friend that gets cut off in the conversation. I'm that friend that gets left behind when I asked them to wait for me. I'm that friend that doesn't get invited to hang out a lot. I'm that friend that if I want to go to the mall or some place with a friend, I have to be the one to invite people to make sure that I get included. I'll always be that friend."

I saw this quote floating around Instagram and it was so dead on about how my life with my friends is that it actually hurt a bit. I am "that" friend and I always have been. It breaks my heart to know that other people feel that way too but at least I know that it's not just me.

I don't keep it a secret that I'm an introvert; I proclaim it all over the internet. However, even though I am introverted, that doesn't mean that I don't like to go out with my friends every once in a while. But just as the quote above states, I don't get invited anywhere. If I want to go out, I have to call all of my friends until someone agrees to come hang out with me. The pure accuracy of this quote really hits home because I really am the friend that gets kicked off of the sidewalk every time that there isn't enough room. Everyone cuts me off in the conversation and they brush over whatever I say. The thing is, no matter what I do to make this better or change it, it doesn't get better and unfortunately, I don't see it getting better any time soon.

It makes me wonder what I've ever done to my friends to deserve this kind of treatment and I honestly can't think of anything that I've ever done to them to warrant this behavior. I don't see what about me is so unlikable. I treat everyone else the way that I want to be treated, especially since I get treated so poorly. People wonder why I stay home on Friday nights and read. "You're young," they say. "You should be out at the movies or at a club with your friends." I wish that I were most nights but I don't have that bond with anyone. Right now, I don't have a best friend. Sometimes I wonder if I ever did. I've always been that friend that people called only when they needed something because they knew that I'd be there in a heartbeat, no questions asked.

The thing is, I've gotten so used to being alone and being "that" friend, that I find it so odd when people actually want to hang out with me. Being alone with my books is what I know and it is my comfort zone. Not to mention, I've seen myself as that person that nobody wants to be around and it shattered my self-confidence. However, now I'm trying to get to a point to where I can change that and learn to love myself even more.

A wise man once told me that if you can count the number of true friends that you have on one hand, you're a lucky person. Right now, I can only name one person that is my true friend that isn't blood related to me and I bet that you all know who that is. I wish that I could say more but right now, I can't. But that's okay, when I move away, I'll meet people who are going through the same things as I am, being a military spouse and I'll gain new, stronger friendships that will last a lifetime. It will all work out in the end and I'll no longer be "that" friend. I'll make sure of it.

Unrealistic Expectations

I use my imagination a lot; it's no secret. Actually, it's something that I'm quite proud of. I enjoy seeing what my mind is capable of coming up with and exploring new territory that was previously seen as a limitation. However, I'm wondering if my imagination running wild is getting me into a bit of trouble.

Ever since my husband enlisted in the army, I've been very excited, nervous but still excited, about where our lives were going to end up. Were we going to be sent to Vermont? India? Alaska? Whether or not any of these options are plausible for the field that he's going into, I'm not really sure. I don't have nearly as much information as I'd like. Therefore, I rely on my thoughts and my thoughts alone, until I'm able to have clear-cut, black and white information and some orders about where we'll be living.

So basically, I've been joking around a lot, saying to my husband, "Just watch. We'll be sent to live in the middle of nowhere." Of course, it's only a joke but part of me still fears that I'll end up in cornfield somewhere, alone and bored out of my mind. I am not saying that living in those conditions is a bad thing. I'm just saying that I'm really shy and introverted, so living in area where not a lot of other people live and doesn't have that much going on, I fear going into a depression and becoming really lonely. However, I have a friend that is a military wife, who says that she made that joke a lot and now she really does live in the middle of nowhere; so she warned me not to jinx myself. So now, I definitely don't say that anymore.

Instead, now I picture myself living on a tropical island in Hawaii or something very similar to it. I'm hoping that if I wish hard enough, I'll end up living in my own little paradise, or Key West would suffice. I started thinking about all of the wonderful activities that I'd be able to do in these places that I could potentially be sent to live in and I got even more excited for my already wonderful future ahead of me. But while I was talking to my little sister, Kelly, about all of the amazing things that we could do if that did end up happening to my husband and I, I started to wonder, what if I'm still sent to the middle of nowhere? What if all of this is just wishful thinking and I do end up alone somewhere?

It scared me because my imagination had already gone crazy just thinking of the wonderful opportunities that would be presented to me if I lived somewhere else that was more exciting than my hometown. So this is the one time that I think that my imagination had finally gotten me into some trouble because I was really sad at the idea that I gotten my hopes up for something that would never happen, which is my own fault but I couldn't help it. It's just human nature to want amazing things so bad that you could taste them.

However, I know that no matter where my husband and I end up, I won't be truly alone because we will have each other and we will have the capability to travel to wherever our hearts desire. Also, within the next few years, we will probably have some little babies running around the house and I'll be able to help them nurture their imaginations as well. That is what is going to be able to keep me going through this long, strenuous process which will lead to my wonderful, perfect, unpredictable life.

Time you love wasting is not wasted time!

As I've mentioned in my previous blogs, I am introvert and it's a quality that I'm very proud of. I'll admit that I wasn't always proud of that quality and I haven't always quite understood what it meant. But through doing research and reading articles about other people like me, I've discovered just how different I am.

I saw one of those e-cards which usually have funny content on them floating around an introvert's fan page and it was an extrovert making fun of an introvert for "never having fun" because the introvert never went out. The introvert was someone who enjoyed staying home and having a quiet Friday night, just as I do. It really got me thinking, "Is that how other people see me?"

Do people see me as someone that doesn't have fun? As someone that doesn't want to have fun? As someone who doesn't know how to have fun? Which one is it? I have no idea but I'm sure that some people think that I'm boring or crazy for not caring to go out on the weekends and get tipsy with my peers. I'm sorry, world. I want to remember my good times.

But regardless, I could spend many Friday, Saturday or Sunday nights, on my couch re-reading Harry Potter, watching Aladdin over and over or writing my frequent blogs. The pattern here is that I am continuing to do the same things over again. When other people talk to me about this, they ask me why I'm wasting my time. It's quite simple. I enjoy it, therefore, I'm not wasting my time. I don't care how many times I've read a book, seen a movie, etc. I enjoy it and that means that I don't need to offer anyone an explanation for my behavior or personal choices. This realization has helped me a lot in my own personal journey of self discovery.

I just want others to come to terms with this idea as well. Nobody has any right to tell you that you shouldn't do what you love or that your hobbies aren't worth your time, whether you enjoy knitting, watching television, kickboxing, etc. Whatever it is, you have the right to spend your time doing whatever you please, without the judgment of others. We don't have very much time on this planet, so you should spend every second of it doing something that you love and that makes you happy. The rest will sort itself out later. Just remember that if you enjoy the time that you're "wasting", it's not wasted time.