Updated Bucket List

Over a year ago, I posted my bucket list on my other blog. I haven't looked at it much since I posted it. But because New Years has just passed, it made me think about my goals. So, I headed on over to that post and decided that this year, I'm going to do everything I can to actually cross something off of it. I'm not an extroverted or courageous person. Most of the time, I'm too nervous to try new things or do any of the things that I say that I want to do. But I decided that it's time to actually start living instead of existing.

While I was perusing my list, I noticed that there were a lot of things listed that I actually didn't want to do. I found myself laughing at it because those things were so out of character for me. I honestly don't know why I would even put them on my list in the first place. I also realized that since the last time I looked at my list, I had actually accomplished a few of them! It was such a relief to know that I did those things just because I wanted to and not because of some pressure that I put on myself because of my bucket list. 

I'm actually pretty proud of myself for going through with those things and I thought that it was important to update my progress, while also taking off the activities that I have no desire to do anymore. So without further adieu, here is my updated bucket list!

• See a lantern festival
• See the Hollywood sign
• Be on a billboard in Time Square
• Ice skate in Central Park
• Drink coffee in Seattle
• Visit Pearl Harbor
• Visit Ground Zero
• Drive down Route 66
• Jump off of a waterfall
• Celebrate my 100th birthday
• Make a wish in the Trevi Fountain
• Put gum on the gum wall in Seattle
• Kiss/be on a big screen 5/15/2013
• Go to the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade
• Run the Color Run
• Be in a flash mob
• Walk the red carpet
• Snowboard
• Start a blog- 4/29/2013
• See the Eiffel Tower
• Visit the Sear's Tower in Chicago
• Visit Pixar Studios
• Travel first class
• Write a letter to myself and open in 10 years 6/28/13
• Eat pizza and spaghetti in Italy
• Eat in one of Gordon Ramsey's restaurants
• Find out how many balloons it takes to lift me up off of the ground
• Visit the Hershey's Chocolate Factory in Pennsylvania
• Try Chicago style pizza in Chicago
• Visit Ben&Jerry's in Vermont
• Visit CNN
• Eat at Carlo's Bakery
• Find P. Sherman 42 Wallaby Way, Sydney
• Visit Moravian Bookshop in Pennsylvania
• Wish on a shooting star
• Take a tour of the White House
• Be in 2 places at once
• Witness a miracle
• Stay in every Disney hotel
• See a meteor shower
• Graduate college
• Go to Disneyland in California
• See a Broadway play in New York 
• Go to all 50 states
• Finish my novel- 7/28/2012 at 12:15 a.m.
• Rescue a dog- 5/28/2014
• Get married-5/12/2013
• Go on a Disney cruise
• Win a championship- November 2009 and 2011- NSPA
• Run a Disney marathon
• Ride in a helicopter
• Learn how to spoil myself
• Become a better person
• Change someone's life for the better
• Be on T.V.- 5/11/2011- WPTV
• Go to a movie premiere
• Go to Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween- 10/16/2012
• Dance in the moonlight- 1/25/2012
• Go on a road trip- 12/19/2014
• Scuba dive
• Swim with dolphins
• Skydive
• Fly a plane
• Learn how to play guitar
• Rock climb
• Go to the lock bridge in France
• Learn to sing
• Get published
• Go on a book tour
• Write a second novel
• Para-sail
• Hang-glide
• Have kids
• Adopt a kid
• Make the NY Times Best Seller's List
• White water raft
• Zipline
• See the Northern Lights
• Go on a star-gazing date
• Make a snow angel- 11/18/2014
• Learn sign language
• Go surfing
• Have a white Christmas
• Build a snowman
• Shop in N.Y.C.
• Paint roses red
• See the Statue of Liberty
• Swim in an infinity pool
• Finish a whole coloring book
• Play messy twister
• Carve my initials into a tree
• Attend a masquerade
• Have a shaving cream fight
• Eat KFC in Kentucky 
• Ride in a hot air balloon 5/16/2013
• Learn to embroider

I don't have a lot crossed off but that's not important! I've got a lot of life to live and I'm going to make the most of it! Hopefully, at the end of the year, there will be some more highlighted things on this list! 

-Chelsea 

'Tis the Season Book Tag!

I absolutely love Christmas and I'm really in the Christmas spirit! So, I decided to do a Christmas related book tag! 

1. Do you have a favorite winter read?
Any Harry Potter novel. 

2. Find a book with blue on the cover!
I just finished reading this book yesterday, Ugly Love by Colleen Hoover.




3. Find a book you’d use as the star on a Christmas tree!
Legend by Marie Lu because it's golden and shiny!



4. Pick one fictional place that would be perfect for a winter vacation!
Narnia!

5. Pick one fictional character you’d take with you on your winter vacation! 
Harry Potter!

6. Name one book on your wish list this year!
David Copperfield by Charles Dickens.

7. Favorite holiday drink, treat, & movie?
I absolutely love white chocolate mochas from Starbucks! My favorite holiday treats are the homemade Christmas cookies that I make with my mother. And my absolute favorite Christmas movie is The Year Without a Santa Claus! I have such fond memories watching this movie with my parents and little sister every year.



Let me know your answers to these questions! Are you as excited for Christmas as I am? Merry Christmas!

-Chelsea

November Reading List

The year is almost over! I can't believe that it's already December! Just like all of the other months this year, I am recapping all of the books that I've read this month. So without further adieu, here is my November Reading List.

1. Heir of Fire



2. Don't Look Back



3. Titanic: Voices From the Disaster 

 

4. Winter Town



5. Hans Andersen's Fairy Tales 



6. Crush



7. Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus- I heard that this book was an interesting read, especially for married couples. So, I picked it up from the library and gave it a quick read. It's definitely a unique take on the subject of differences between genders.



-Chelsea

Snow Day!

Yesterday, there was a HUGE snowstorm! But it didn't hit until the afternoon. In the morning, I went out with Kelsey and Jax to have some fun before the snow got too bad. It was so much fun and I love how the pictures turned out! I love living up north so far! I know that it's going to get crazier but for now, this is spectacular!

This is officially one of my favorite pictures!

Stay warm, everyone! 

-Chelsea

Reader Problems Tag

I cannot resist doing any book-related tags, so here is yet another one!

1. If you had 20,000 books on your TBR, how would you decide which one to read next?

I'd probably try to figure out which books have been there the longest and start from there. I know that it'd be next to impossible but I'd probably end up giving it a shot.

2. If you are halfway through a book and you're not loving it, then do you power through it or put it down?

I normally power through it. I hate leaving books unfinished.

3. If it's the end of the year and you're behind on your reading challenge. Do you try to catch up?

I'm actually done with this year's reading challenge but if I wasn't, then yes, I would try.

4. How do you cope if a series that you love doesn't have matching covers?

I normally borrow books from the library before I buy them. So by the time that I get around to buying them, the covers normally match. It's not an issue that I deal with very much.

5. If everyone that you know loves a book that you don't like, who do you bond with over shared feelings? 

I don't have a lot of friends that read or read the same books that I do. So if I hate it, sometimes I'll go read some bad Goodreads reviews about it.

6. If you're reading in public and you're about to cry, what do you do?

It's actually very rare for me to cry in books. I don't know why, it just is. So I can't see myself crying in public like that.

7. If a sequel of a book that you love comes out but you've forgotten most of the first book, what do you do?

I like to marathon series or at least try to read books in a series in a timely manner. But if I hadn't, then I'd probably just jump right into the sequel and hope that I remember everything while I'm reading it.

8. If you don't want people to borrow your books, how do you politely tell them no?

I just tell them that people have damaged my books before and I don't want that to happen again.

9. How do you get over a reading slump?

I try to just keep reading. If not, I try to find a new hobby until I want to read again.

10. If there are a bunch of new releases coming out, how many do you buy?

As many as I want but not all at once.

11. How long do books sit on your shelf before you read them?

They don't. My nose is stuck in that book from the second that I get it.

-Chelsea

Happy Things

I got some bad news today and it really got me down. After I got the news, I gave myself a small amount of time for sulking and then pulled myself together. To do that, I started thinking about some of the good things in my life.

1. My family- I called my family right after I found out my bad news and they were very supportive. Kris was with me when I found the news out and he was completely there for me. He made me feel like, no matter what, things were going to be okay. Everyone felt bad for me but offered encouraging words. They told me that I was a strong person that could handle anything that life threw at me. I realized that at the end of the day, I'd always have them. And if I have them, then life's pretty great. I feel very lucky and blessed to be a part of my family.

2. Kelsey- In the short time that I've known Kelsey, she's become one of the best friends that I've ever had. She lets me cry to her, goes out of her way to help me and accepts me for who I am. I honestly feel very blessed to have her in my life and I'll be forever grateful to her.

3. My health- I got some blood work done about a week ago and my doctor assured me that everything is completely normal and healthy. That's all that I can really ask for. I've been going to the gym 5 times a week and I've significantly changed my eating habits to reflect clean eating. I feel better about myself than I have in a long time and it's great to know that it's getting results.

It's easier to get through tough times when you focus on positivity, so that's what I'm going to do. It's easier to feed into the negativity but life is what you make it. So I'm going to make it the best that it can possibly be and that starts with my positive attitude.

-Chelsea