This is a blog where you'll get to know the real me. The good, the bad and everything in between. I'm using this blog to document my life experiences, my thoughts and my memories. So come on this little journey with me. I'd love to have you. Just promise me that you will only promote positivity on this blog and I promise that I'll be me, unapologetically.
I have been going through the most recent posts that I've put up and I realize that I haven't done any personal posts in a while. I want you all to get to know me better and not just get tags or reviews from me. So I figured the best way for me to do that would be to post some more facts about me!
1. I laugh when I get nervous.
2. I'm a terrible liar.
3. I have a twitter account that I hardly ever use.
4. I have recently discovered BookTubers on YouTube and have loved so many of their recommendations! I'm so grateful that I've found them!
5. I had my appendix out when I was 13.
6. I'm very blunt and most of my friends say that it's their favorite quality about me. They know that I won't lie to them or beat around the bush.
7. My lucky number is 7.
8. Maroon 5 has been my favorite band ever since I scored a free ticket to an outdoor concert of theirs when I was 12. I seriously had no idea who they were until then. My friend had an extra ticket and I figured, why not? I swear that I've been in love with Adam Levine ever since!
9. My new favorite book is Rule by Jay Crownover.
10. I have a book-buying addiction.
For some reason, whenever I sit down and try to describe myself, I find it really hard to think of facts to put down. So 10 will do for now. I hope that you enjoyed this little sneak peek into my life!
I literally just finished this book about 5 minutes ago but I loved it so much that I just had to write a review about it and share it with all of you!
Rule Archer is your typical bad boy and Shaw Landon is a typical good girl, searching for the approval of everyone around her. Rule has kept his distance from Shaw for years because he thought that she had been in a relationship with his dead twin brother, Remy. He finds out that this wasn't the case and that Shaw had been in love with him since the first day that she met him. And from there starts a tumultuous relationship with the unlikely duo. Factor in a stalker ex-boyfriend, disapproving parents and the fact that Rule's mother blames him for his brother's death and it makes for a very interesting story.
I don't know what it was about Rule but he was just so easy to love. He had some baggage and demons to deal with but still found ways to make himself happy, even if it drove a wedge between him and his family. Shaw sought the approval of everyone and considered herself a part of Rule's family more than her own. In a drunken stupor one night, she throws herself at Rule and he willingly obliges her desires. From there, they realize that they are a perfect fit but that doesn't make the relationship easy. They have their fair share of doubts and problems and have to decide if this is something that they both can handle and are willing to work with.
This book was amazing and had me captivated from the first page. I literally could not put this book down. I was so enthralled with this book that I felt like I was a part of the story. The characters were flawed and actually human, which I appreciated. I read a lot and it bothers me when authors write characters out as if they're perfect and don't make mistakes. So having flawed and emotionally scarred characters made the book more relatable and enjoyable.
There was tons of suspense, a few twists and a ton of drama. To say that this book was emotional would be an understatement.I remember getting so mad at Rule at one point that I wanted to throw my book at the nearest wall. I was involved in this story that when I flipped to the last page, I was sorry that it was over. I also liked that the ending wasn't forced or rushed. The characters stayed true to themselves and the ending just fit. Jay Crownover is an extraordinary writer and I commend her for this story.
I found this book on a whim and took a chance on it. Thank goodness I did! It is my new favorite book and I can't wait to read more of the series! If you have not read this, I recommend going to the book store now and picking it up! The cover alone is a good enough reason to read it anyway! :)
Have you read this book? Have you read the rest of the series? What are your thoughts?
I cannot remember a single period in my life that I wasn't a bookworm. Trust me, my family can't either. My dad said that when he chaperoned my field trips in elementary school, he would find me reading somewhere. Reading has always been a huge, important part of me and I openly share that with the world. I'm quite proud of it, actually.
But I don't use audio books or e-books. Even though buying paperback or hardcover books is typically more expensive, I won't buy anything else. I love the feeling of holding a book in my hands and flipping the pages. We live in a society where we are constantly looking at screens: computer screens, TV screens, our smart phones, etc. So when I want to unwind, relax or entertain myself, I don't want to look at another screen to read a book. I want a break from technology. I want pages.
I know that it's quite different for audio books. I've tried a few; they're just not for me. I read at a really fast pace and to me, the pace of the audio books that I've tried weren't quick enough. So I'm just sticking with what I know! But trust me, I don't judge anyone that doesn't read physical copies. As long as you're reading, that's great! Keep it going!
For Christmas I received quite a few Visa gift cards and I went out shopping to multiple stores. I'm not going to lie, almost all of the money was spent on books. And I regret nothing. I've read 8 books so far this month and I'm currently on number 9. I've considered writing more book reviews but if I wrote a review for every book that I've read, there would be reviews up pretty much every other day.
I'm currently reading Crossed, which is the sequel to Matched. I recently wrote a review on Matched that you can read here.
Do you like physical copies of books? What are you reading? What should I read next?
1. What is the name of your blog? How long have you been blogging?
I have two blogs! This one is called Hey Guys, It's Chelsea! and my other one is called Sounds Like Chelsea's Life. I started blogging in April 2013 but this one was started in June 2013.
2. Why do you blog?
I started blogging because I love to write and I wanted to share my thoughts and work with the world. I wanted to learn how to take criticism, face my fears and find a productive hobby. I quickly fell in love with blogging and I'm so glad that I formed my blogs!
3. What is the first blog you ever followed?
The first one that I ever followed was Jenni at Story of My Life and if you aren't following her, I definitely recommend it!
4. What is your favorite post you wrote in 2013?
Hmm, on this blog, it would have to be Letter to Me and on my other blog, I'd say that it was Positivity, the first post that I ever wrote.
5. What are your blogging goals for 2014?
I would love to improve my writing, gain some more followers and find my niche in the blogging community.
If you read my other blog, Sounds Like Chelsea's Life , you have probably seen this post, My Plausible Resolutions . In that post, I explain that instead of using my resolutions to completely change something about myself or a certain behavior, I am just going to try to do more of what makes me happy.
We are currently 9 days into 2014 and I just have to say that as far as resolutions are concerned, so far, so good. I'm not perfect but I have made a serious effort so far, which is what's important, right? The effort?
Number 1 on my list of 3 resolutions was to blog more. I would love to be the type of blogger that posts at least 3 to 5 times a week but I'm just not there yet. The passion and the desire to make my blog better and share my writing with the world is still there but sometimes I'm uninspired. I don't want to drag my blog's quality down because I force myself to write content that isn't good or worth sharing just for the sake of posting. So this resolution, I am still working on but I'm cutting myself some slack since it's still the beginning of the year and I've been doing great on my other resolutions.
Number 2 was to write more. A few months back, I wrote a post called "Don't Break the Chain". It was inspired by Mr. Alex Day, one of my favorite YouTubers. He is a musician and said that he used to only write songs when he was inspired but he quickly realized that if you do that, you can go weeks or months without creating any new content. So the idea is to set aside 30 minutes to an hour of each day to dedicate solely to writing songs, or in my case, novels. I started my own "chain" the day that I wrote that post but after a few weeks, I realized that my ideas were going nowhere and I hate to admit that... I broke the chain. However, a few weeks ago, I came up with another story idea and have been writing over an hour each day for over a week now. (The first few weeks after I came up with the idea were spent outlining to story, the characters, etc.) So I can very proudly say that I've kept to this resolution so far and I'm pretty proud of myself.
This is Alex's YouTube video for anyone that would like to watch it. (X is the letter that he uses to talk about not breaking the chain.)
And last but not least, number 3 was read more. I am a colossal bookworm but this year, for the first time, I have set a goal for how many books that I'd like to read. So far, I have read 4 books: Divergent, Matched, Uglies and Last Night at Chateau Marmont. I am currently just over 100 pages into Delirium and the sequel to Matched, which is called Crossed, just arrived in the mail yesterday. I am so excited to read that one! Reading is my escape from reality, it helps broaden my mind to new ideas, it helps me support the industry that I want to work in, it keeps my mind sharp, it helps shape my imagination and is just all around fun and relaxing. I have enjoyed every second of keeping to this resolution, although I didn't care for Uglies as much as I thought I would. But it was worth the read.
So that is a quick update on my 3 resolutions. I'd love to know if you've kept to yours so far or if you're making progress. Any progress is good progress!
This is not a story that I would typically pick up but on a recent haul (I bought so many books!) at Barnes and Noble, I saw Matched on a display and I just couldn't walk away from it. I am often intrigued by book covers and the picture of a girl in a lavish green dress trapped in a bubble caught my attention right away. So I picked it up, read the synopsis and decided to take a chance. And I am so glad that I did!
The story is set in a dystopian society where everything is decided for you: how you dress, where you work, who you marry, etc. Cassia is a young girl who has just come of age to be matched but when she does, two boys come up on the screen, Ky and Xander. They are both friends of hers but there is a bigger problem. Ky cannot be matched at all and even though Cassia knows this, she cannot seem to stay away from him.
Cassia gets to know Ky better. She finds out who he truly is and he shows her parts of the world that she could only dream about. But then Cassia finally sees flaws in Society's systems and begins to question everything around her. The world around her starts to crumble and she knows that in order to have a chance at happiness, she has to fight back.
I give this book 5/5 stars! It was amazing and I did not want to put it down! Unfortunately, there are other things that have to get done but as soon as I was done with everything else, I could not wait to put my nose back in this book! I really felt like I related to Cassia. I was always the good girl that did as she was told and never questioned things until her eyes were opened.
I absolutely loved all of the characters, their background stories and their complex personalities. I hate it when characters are one-dimensional and I didn't find that to be the case with this book. I have a long list of books to read (from that haul) but now I am absolutely dying to read the sequel, Crossed!
As you all probably know by now, my husband is in the army. Since he's joined, we've been separated for 7 1/2 months. But a few months ago, he called me to tell me that he was allowed to come home for Christmas for 12 days.
You can imagine my excitement! So when the homecoming day was coming closer and closer, I became busier and busier! I wanted everything to be perfect when he came home and I wanted to make sure that I didn't forget to get anything done. I was definitely stressed out but it was all worth it, of course.
So the day before his expected homecoming, I was going crazy. Actually, that's a big understatement. I was going absolutely bananas with excitement but no matter what I did, time seemed to stand still. But then my mother came home early from work, which she never does. She said that she wasn't feeling well, so her boss let her leave early. I didn't have any reason not to believe her.
My sister got home from school not long after that and she was hanging out in our front yard. I heard a knock on the door and my mother told me that she thought Kelly forgot her key and locked herself out. I walked downstairs, opened the door, looked out and didn't see anybody.
Then, Kristopher comes out of hiding and I went crazy! I started screaming and I jumped into his arms! He came home a day earlier than he told me he would and my family had been in on the surprise! My mother came home early and got me ready. (I thought it was weird that she wanted to do my hair and makeup at 3 p.m.?) My dad picked Kris up at the airport and my sister helped plan the surprise. So a few little white lies were told but I think that I'll forgive my family. :)
It meant a lot to me that my family had been so involved in his surprise and I cannot tell you how many emotions I was feeling as I was finally holding him in my arms again. It was an amazing experience to have our first Christmas and New Year together as a married couple and I wouldn't trade that for anything. These past 12 days have been the fastest days of my life and he went back to work yesterday. I cried a lot and I'm sure that I'll be crying a lot more over these next few months but it's not a goodbye, it's a "see you soon."
I hope that everyone had a safe and happy New Year!
