Yesterday I made a snow lady. She is a lady because she is wearing my blonde wig from my Halloween costume. I built her right by our garage door so she could terrify surprise Brian when he got home from work. Building her made me realize that snowman is a sexist term. Brian and I decided they should be called snowbeings because that would be much cooler anyway.
Sometimes I dream of one day being a yoga instructor. Denise Austin is basically my hero.
If I could be a mystical creature, I would probably be a mermaid. Life would be like a constant beach day. Plus, I love seafood. Oh, but maybe mermaids don't eat seafood. What do they eat? If they eat fish or lobster or shrimp, does that make them half-cannibal? I am curious.
How is it that I can run for miles and miles outside and be perfectly content, but trying to run one mile on a treadmill seems like a complete chore?
Touching dirty dishes in the sink makes me gag. So often times, I rope Brian into doing them.
I think snow is beautiful and I get giddy about clomping around in my snow boots.
Now meet Martha, the snow lady. She has golden locks and a cheery face of strawberries:
Maybe a regular Monday for most, but January 28th will always mean a little something to me.
It was January 28th, 2010, when a cute blonde boy rang my doorbell. I opened the door, to see him slyly smiling at me. I felt a mixture of emotions: happy, excited, nervous. I think those emotions are all pretty common for a girl to feel when she goes out with a boy for the first time. I sent him a text earlier that day asking him what we were doing for our date. His response was that it was a surprise. I interpreted that in two ways. Either 1) it really was a surprise and would probably be good or 2) he had no idea what we were doing yet. Both of my interpretations ended up being correct. He had planned not one, but five or six dates, and we left it up to chance to see which date we would actually go on.
It ended up being the best first date of my life. So good that three years later, I am still dating him. It's funny to think that something as simple as a first date could end up having so much meaning. It means enough that every year we celebrate and relive that first date. And every year he brings me a bouquet of roses.
Does anyone remember the movie Disney Channel movie, Life Size? You know, the one with Tyra Banks and Lindsay Lohan? You know, where Tyra is a barbie doll and she becomes a human? Man, if you don't know what I'm talking about then this will be really awkward. . .
If you do know what I'm talking about, maybe you'll recall the part when Tyra breaks into cheesy song at a fancy dinner party. If you don't recall that part, don't fret. I so generously found this youtube video of it.
Shine bright, shine far. be a star!
Wearing my star sweater totally makes me want to break out into that song. I mean, it is a serious temptation I have to deal with. Oh, how I wish sometimes that life was a musical.
But this sweater is beyond comfy, and I scored it for less than ten dollars at Kohl's. Also, you can get 10% off a purchase from kohls.com by using the code TENFORBLOG at checkout. Good until March 9th. Also, I wore brown boots with black. Sue me. Also, it was really foggy while we took these pictures in the middle of a road. Like we could only see a couple feet in front of us. So I am happy to say that I am still alive and avoided getting smashed by a car.
Have a splendid week and remember, in the words of Tyra Banks, be a star!
Now that it's been a month since Christmas, how about I blog about it? I mean, I've already been wallowing in sorrow for the last few weeks since it ended. I wallowed in it as I took down the tree. I wallowed in it when I turned on the radio to hear "Jingle Bell Rock" replaced by "Beauty and the Beat". And I wallowed in it after I watched The Grinch in my Christmas onesie and it just felt wrong. So for just a moment, I will wallow in the joy of Christmas day. And afterwards, I will move on with my life and embrace the rest of January. Because after all, December will come again.
However, Christmas of 2012 will be a hard one to top. We stayed with Brian's parents for Christmas Eve. Brian's other siblings couldn't make it since they both live out of state. They were greatly missed, but we still had ourselves a fun little time. And you think we would have slept in on Christmas morning but we totally didn't. I think I will forever be a little kid when it comes to Christmas. I woke up several times throughout the night and was wide awake by 6 am. Around 7, we started opening presents. But there was one rule: one of my presents from Brian had to be opened very last. It was the "surprise present". Brian had been talking up this present all month and I was beginning to think it was all just a joke. I had not the slightest idea what the surprise present could be. It was in a medium sized box and was fairly heavy. I can't tell you how many times throughout the month I picked that box up and gave it a good shake, trying to gain some knowledge of what secret was waiting beneath that wrapping paper. Turns out, Brian totally through me for a loop. The box was filled with phone books. All just to confuse me. And a smaller wrapped box waited inside. I will let Brian's iPhone video tell you the rest of what happened that morning. . .
I realize I look ridiculous and I squeal an abnormal amount, but MY HUSBAND SURPRISED ME WITH A CAR! Okay, I will stop yelling now. The best part was, I think Brian was almost more excited than I was. He is adorable.
I decided to name my sweet kiwi green (isn't that the most adorable color?) Hyundai Tuscon Ingrid. For some reason, my family members have always named their cars. Which probably is a bad thing because it makes me more emotionally attached to an inanimate object than I probably should be. I mean, I didn't know how to break it to Goldie (my dangerous mini van) that she was going away and being replaced by Ingrid. And then I realized, "Oh, I don't have to break anything to Goldie. Because she's a van. What kind of crazy person talks to her van? Oh that's right, I do." But the name Ingrid feels so right. The day after Christmas, I took her out on a joy ride and put on Ingrid Michaelson radio on Pandora. I turned up the tunes, gripped the steering wheel, and as it says in The Perks of Being a Wallflower, "In that moment, I swear we were infinite." That's how I felt. So Ingrid shall be her name and we will have many good road trips together in the future.
Later that afternoon, we took BWell's parents to the home of my parents and we all ate a Christmas feast together. We ate, we laughed, we played, we loved. And I gave everyone rides in my new car. It was a good day. One that I will remember always.
And now I ask you, how do you make your darn husbands stick to a gift giving budget? I just can't have Brian going cray cray and buying cars so he can outdo me like this. Granted, we were going to have to buy a new car soon anyway. I guess it was better to get it as a surprise/gift rather than a total necessity once Goldie finally bit the dust.
Well, enjoy some more pictures from Christmas day. And if you need a ride somewhere, I'm your girl!
While everyone was watching football on Sunday to see who would be playing in the Superbowl, we were like, "Hey, Cinderella is on abc family."
I actually really like watching football and I love the Superbowl. But I have kind of quit caring about professional sports. I think I just lost respect for pro athletes after they whined about not getting payed enough. Get a real job, meat heads.
On the subject of professional athletes, I am thrilled about this movie coming out in April. Jackie Robinson. There's a man who played for the love of the sport. I wish more athletes were still like that. What a truly inspiring man.
Cache Valley's air is disgusting right now. I think I'm gonna get lung cancer.
It it was socially acceptable, I would wear my bathrobe all day e'ery day. Thanks to my baby sis for giving it to me as a Christmas gift. I could live in it.
I'm not too crazy about girly lotion. The fruity/flowery aroma of it is usually just too much for me. I like to stick to the simple stuff that gets the job done. Lubriderm, baby. Or I love Aveeno. Brian refers to them as "man lotions". Whatever you want to call them, they make my skin feel super soft without feeling super greasy. And I don't smell like a flower pot after. As far as girly lotions go, I am quite fond of the Victoria's Secret collection. Those are girly lotions I can appreciate. However, my bottle of Lubriderm is much cheaper.
I think I am addicted to cherry coca-cola.
Would you judge me if I said I've been adoring this song? Maybe it's the Valentine season approaching that's doing it to me. Or maybe it's just that I love Billy Joel.
My hair fits in a high bun. Last time such a thing happened I was in high school. Long hurrs, here I come! And short hair, thanks for the fun few years. You made me feel like a grownup as I entered a grownup world. Here is a picture to prove it:
And I just won't tell you how many bobby pins are in the back. . .
coat: Dillard's, leggings: Dillard's, boots: TJ Maxx, earrings: Kohl's, shades: Old Navy
The shoppers of the valley received some news this past week. This news can be good or bad depending on how you look at it. The bad: Dillard's is leaving the mall. The good: Dillard's is slashing their prices to get rid of everything in the store.
Let me tell you, I had no intention of doing any sort of shopping this weekend. We had plans to stay at the cabin with friends (which we did). We stayed up late, slept in late, and then spent most of our Saturday doing some sledding. Then on the ride home as I sat in the passenger seat, hair matted, beanie on, exhausted from intense sledding, my phone vibrated. It was a text message from my sweet grandpa. He texts in all caps, like he's yelling (yells filled with love, of course). This is what the text said:
"DILLARDS ON SALE. GET UP THERE."
Since I was always taught to obey my elders, I made the trip to Dillard's. I told myself I wouldn't buy anything. . .but then my eyes fell upon this glorious coat of overwhelming pink. At regular price, I would have resisted. But with the sale price. . .I just couldn't say no. And then I scored those crazy leggings for under ten buckaroos too. I should feel guilty, but I don't. Especially because I'm not the one that spent the most in the Weller household. BWell loves nice clothes. He went a little crazy on the dress shirts that were on wicked sale. But he deserved the shopping spree because he rocks. Also, this is the text message I got from Grandpa after telling him I bought a splendid pink coat:
"THAT'S MY GIRL. LUV U A LOT."
There's nothing like making your grandpa proud. Especially when you make him proud by shopping.
"Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body." -Joseph Addison
If you read my post about setting my goals for 2013, then you know that one of my main goals is to read a book a month. Well, my "Book-A-Month Challenge" is now the real deal. I assigned each month a book I've been itching to read.
Now that each month has a book to match it, I'm really extra excited to start working on this adventure. A few of these books are ones I've made friends with before. I read The Great Gatsby and Les Miserables in high school (I was wild about them both). And Little Women and Where the Red Fern Grows were two of my favorites in grade school. Hopefully I can even get ahead of my schedule and read some other books as well. Some of those others I hope to get to are the Delirium series,The Lovely Bones, and A Tale of Two Cities. I'm sure I will squeeze in something by Mary Higgins Clark as well, because I can never resist her. If I get ahead of my schedule, then I will simply move on to the next book in line. Here it goes. I am thrilled to get my mind toned and in shape. Join me if it suits your fancy.
My first kiss of 2013 and the famous Keller firework show put on by my dad and brother
I've never been one who is huge on New Year's resolutions. The new year is symbolic of new beginnings. I get that. It's cute and all, but I feel like you can start your own new beginning on any day of any given year.
My other issue with New Year's resolutions is that people rarely keep them. I applaud you if you are a person who does stick to your resolutions. I think that is absolutely awesome. I just think people get in this wrong mindset. Like, "I'm going to lose x amount of weight and have a totally ripped bod even though I haven't worked out in five years." We all know what happens. The gym is a living nightmare packed with people for the first two weeks of January, and then it slims down to the regulars again. Sad, but true. Why not set realistic goals? Why not break the big goal of the year down into little parts? For example, decide you'll go to the gym three days a week for the month of January. Then maybe bump it up to four. Sign up for a race and train for it.
It's kind of like marriage. You don't just marry a person and think, "Okay, now we are going to live happily ever after." That's right, Snow White and Cinderella were full of crap. I know, I'm disappointed too. But you have to work at marriage, just like you have to work at anything that reaps something good. Life isn't perfect. Life is messy. The thing with messes is that they are a lot easier to clean up when the mess is little, before it turns into a giant mess.
That's why I decided for my 2013 resolutions, I'm going to really break things down. I want to break things down to the month and even to the week.
So I bought myself a notepad, and every Sunday I want to try writing down five simple goals to accomplish that week. For this week I wrote down: 1) Make the bed every morning 2) Try a new recipe 3) Make art 4) Pleasure read for half an hour every day 5) Make out with Brian. Brian wrote the last one because I was having a hard time thinking of a fifth one. These weekly goals will usually be very simple things, but I feel like it will be a good way to make a habit of accomplishing things. I am excited to see if it works.
Another goal I've made for 2013 is to read a (fun) book every month. I know that probably isn't that hard for a lot of people. Many people read several books in just one month. But sometimes I get so consumed with other things that I forget to pleasure read. And when I do have time to pleasure read, I feel guilty about it. I think about all the other things I should be doing instead of sitting and reading. I want to get over these feelings of guilt because I believe reading is a very rewarding and important thing. If you know me, you know I am a book worm. I love books, I just want to learn to make time for them again. It seems like ever since I started college, my pleasure reading kicks have come in spurts. I want it to be a naturally occurring thing again. In high school, pleasure reading was like brushing my teeth. Every night I did it before going to bed. I would love to do that again. I hope by having a certain book set for every month that I can make this goal happen.
My big goals for the entire year are to be to church on time, to do scripture study with Brian (we've been pretty awful at this in the past), and to do things that scare me. I know that last one is really broad, but it's meant to be broad. I think it would be ideal to try something that scares me every day. I am not saying I'm going to turn into some dare devil. I'm talking about smaller things. For example, I made myself sign up for a billiards class. I love shooting pool but I've never been that great and I never even knew all the rules. For this reason, I've wanted to take a billiards class for years but have always chickened out. I didn't want to try something that I knew I could possibly be the very worst at in the whole class. However, I decided to sign up for the class and get over my fear of not being good at something. And guess what? I'm pretty sure on the first day I was the worst in the class. But after a few classes, I'm already starting to shoot really well. The instructor taught me how to hold the cue correctly (ha) and he taught me how to start making some difficult shots with a few simple tips. It feels fantastic to know that I am already getting good at something that I've secretly wanted to be good at for years.
So here is to 2013! Here's to breaking down goals to the basics, to reading more, and to trying things that scare me!
I have this problem where I sometimes forget to breathe. I start getting lightheaded and realize, "Oh yeah, I need to stop holding my breath." I think I first discovered I had this problem in high school during track practice. I passed out after running endless bananas (one person runs a 200, then you have to run a 200, and you keep going for an eternity). Then my coach was like, "Kelsey, are you breathing while you run?" And I realized I wasn't so sure if I was.
Rebel Wilson is my hero. Not only because she is Fat Amy in Pitch Perfect. But also because, I mean, come on, her name is Rebel!
Speaking of Pitch Perfect, I wouldn't mind being friends with Brittany Snow. She seems like a nice person.
In Primary on Sunday, one of the boys in our class raised his hand and asked me why I did my makeup like an Egyptian. Not quite sure what that means, but I was Cleopatra for Halloween once.
This song popped up on my iPod today and it made my day. An oldie, but a goody.
I got new nail polish that smells like cotton candy after it dries. It especially came in handy in class the other day when I sat next to the kid with morning breath. I spent half the period with my fingernails near my nostrils to block out the bad breath smell with magical scents of carnival sugar goodness.
sweater: F21, colored jeans: Head Over Heels, boots: Fashion Box, glasses: gift, earrings: Target
Without fail, I still sob like a baby every time I watch The Lion King and Mufasa dies. I mean, come on. That scene is one of the more heart-wrenching of all movie scenes if you ask me.
Disney just knows how to tug at the heartstrings. And they also know how to make money. Movies, amusement parks, and now superbly awesome sweaters. What will they do to me next?
And while we are on the subject of Disney, I highly suggest you give the Disney songs station a try on Pandora. It's one of my more favorite things when they play a Lion King tune. That was a good call getting Elton John involved on the soundtrack. Say what you want about the man, I love him. He's a musical genius.
Also, I felt like my animal print glasses were an appropriate thing to wear with this outfit. I don't wear them often. They are a little. . .loud. Like rawr loud. I also can't help but feel a bit self conscious when wearing fake glasses since I have perfect eye sight. I get that the whole trend is a little ridiculous. But still fun. However, I did once lie to my grandpa at a family function when I was wearing a pair.
"Why are you wearing those ridiculous glasses, Kelsey?"
"No Grandpa, these are new sunglasses. They protect my eyes from the sun without being all dark."
I don't think he believed me. But he didn't push the subject. So I guess it kinda worked.
The Reeder Family Christmas Party is always a night of joyous entertainment. It never fails me and I look forward to it every December. The Reeders would be my mom's side of the family.
We always have a fantastic dinner (this year was no different). After stuffing ourselves full of food and treats, we all sit in a food coma and enjoy the grandchild talent show. This gives each grandchild the opportunity to showcase their mad skills in something. This year's show was full of piano and string performances by various kids of various ages, a magic trick, and even a xylophone duet. As the eldest grandchild, I even continued to join in on the tradition. Brian helped. He played The First Noel on his guitar and we sang together. We discovered it is difficult to sing after consuming mounds of prime rib, so don't try it.
After the talent show ends, we shoo away this younger children and do my most favorite thing, the white elephant gift exchange. The Reeders are very creative people, so we always end up with some hilarious gifts. The gift I opened was a toilet plunger, rolls of toilet paper, and there were some weird gooey nut things covering the end of the plunger (only they totally didn't look like nuts). Luckily, I got rid of the plunger and after the game ended, I was left with a giant bag of rubber duck bills. . .
You better believe a good prank will come out of all those duck bills. Just you wait.
Uncle Kevin ended up with our giant mu mu (he wears it nicely) and my cousin Lottie ended up with a huge golden Buddha statue we also brought.
After white elephants, we all get our gifts from "Santa" aka my grandparents. The best part of this was quite possibly when a gift for Luna was pulled out of the bag. . .
That's right, my grandma got Luna a Santa hat cat house. And my little cousin got a toy guitar and went all Slash on us. She showed me just how to party like a rockstar (and also requested I take about twenty pictures of her).
Another wonderful thing about this year's party is that our family friend, Feyisa honored us all with his presence. When my mom and I went to Ethiopia a few years back, we made great friends with Feyisa. Now, Feyisa is living in Utah and going to school. How great is that?! All of the grandkids were stoked to see Feyisa and a few demanded they get a group picture with him.
Thanks fam damily. It's always a good time. I can hardly wait for next year's party.
I am terrible at introductions. I don't know what it is, but when it comes time for me to introduce myself and what I'm all about, I freeze up. I hardly remember my own name, let alone how old I am.
On Wednesday nights, I have a class that is pretty small. Last night, we went through the entire class and we each introduced ourselves. It was simple. We were to tell our name, our major, and where we were from. Then the TA would ask each person a random question he wanted answered. A few students threw in extra things about themselves. One girl mentioned she was half Japanese. Another told us about her achievements. And I sat, half listening and breaking a cold sweat, while I tried to think up something witty I could say when it came to my turn. Everything I thought of either sounded lame or I would be plain bragging about myself. Not that I have anything that grand to brag about, I just didn't want to come across as proud or arrogant. So I decided to keep things simple, and I would see what the TA asked me. Perhaps he would ask me something pertaining to my exciting major like the most interesting story I had covered, or what I planned on doing after graduation. Or maybe he would ask me what my favorite hobby was. I would bank on making myself sound interesting through answering the TA's question. Perfect.
Then came my turn. I said something like, "Hi, everyone. My name is Kelsey Keller (I left out Weller since I still haven't changed my name with the University). I am majoring in broadcast journalism and minoring in sociology, and I am from Weston, Idaho."
Then I waited for my question.
The TA then asked, "Okay, I have a serious question for you. How many potato farmers were there in your hometown?"
Everyone laughed. Except for me. I didn't think it was funny. Actually, I was pissed. But I tried my best to pleasantly smile and answer, "Actually, there was only one potato farmer where I lived."
I really wanted to go on and ask him where he served his mission. Because I know he is not LDS, although he is from Utah. I wanted to prove a point that he was stereotyping, but I decided that would not be the wisest thing to do. Especially on the first day of class. So with that, my turn was over.
And I was bugged the remainder of class because I would be remembered by my classmates as the potato farmer.
So if I could go back in time, perhaps I would say something like this:
My name is Kelsey Keller Weller. That's right, my name is its own little poem. I am majoring in broadcast journalism, minoring in sociology, and I will graduate in May. I am still not so sure what to do from there, but I have a few fun career options. I've done some freelance work for several news stations, but I've also done some wedding and engagement videos too. I am part of the Aggie Radio News Team. I am also a peer mentor for a group of freshmen students. I ran on the track & field team here at USU, but then decided to get more involved with my major instead. I married a great guy about a year and a half ago. So yes, I'm married, but I am a fun married person. My husband owns an Allstate insurance agency. Oh, and my husband's name is Brian, but I often call him BWell or Bri Guy. And we have the sweetest little kitty named Luna. She has all the good traits of a cat, and otherwise, acts like a dog. Her favorite thing to do is play fetch. I am from Weston, Idaho and I went to a very small high school. My graduating class was 42. But I loved how small it was. I love to read, write, sing with my husband, hike, run, travel, and do yoga. The coolest place I have ever traveled to is Ethiopia. Brian proposed to me on the beach in Mexico. I like pulling pranks and I love food. All food. Except for green beans. But I will eat them if they are given to me. Oh, and I'm terrible at math. I still use my fingers for simple addition. I also have a random sense of humor, so if I laugh at something when no one else is laughing, you will know why. I get distracted easily and I can't multitask to save my life. I have a wild imagination.
However, I can't go back in time. So I will hold the title proudly as "the girl who grows potatoes" until next Wednesday's class time. Until then, I feel a lot better now that I've gotten this off my chest. And I hope you've learned your lesson. Never assume someone you meet from Idaho grows potatoes or even likes potatoes. Because Idahoans have bad tempers.
I hate to say it, but January irritates me. It's always a slightly depressing month. Thank the heavens I was born into the world early and didn't wait for my January due date.
I am not sure I have ever bawled in public as hard as I did during Anne Hathaway's solo in Les Miserables. My whole body was trembling. And then later that night, I had a headache from all the crying. Boo hoo. Seriously though, she was perfect.
I want to throw a masquerade party more than anything. Then I can decorate a mask. And wear an old prom dress for no real reason.
I can't even describe to you how much I am currently adoring this song.
I would be more than thrilled to own Angelina Jolie's entire wardrobe from The Tourist. She looks so classy in that movie. And Johnny Depp is. . .Johnny Depp. He still runs around like he is Captain Jack Sparrow. But I still love him.
Brian made me try my first ever McRib yesterday. I don't think it's really meat. It might actually be made of rubber. Brian is still upset I'm not a McRib lover.
A hair appointment must be made. My bangs are still crooked from the last time I totally botched them.
I am anxiously waiting for this and this to arrive on my doorpstep. And when they do, perhaps it will be time to clean out my closet (I think I'm out of hangers).
I wore earmuffs for the entirety of the day yesterday. I wore them while I made dinner, while I did yoga, you name it--I probably wore them. But it's been in the negatives nonstop here. The high of twenty today made it feel like paradise, allowing me to shed the muffs and show off my ears again.
Sometimes I do random side jobs. Like yesterday I helped a friend with a tutorial video he is working on for a guy's website. He wanted someone to do the voice over for the tutorial and I came to mind, so I guess that means I have a somewhat pleasant voice. So maybe sometime you will hear me annoyingly directing you to do things. "Now enter your email address and press next in the lower right hand corner. . ."
Today marked the first day of my last semester before earning my degree. I generally like school. I like learning about new things. But the thing that hurts is paying for the opportunity to learn. And after paying a good chunk of money for tuition comes the task of purchasing textbooks. A lot of times, I feel like buying textbooks can be a big slap in the face. It's like, "Oh, so you just spent thousands of dollars to go to class? Well, now pay a few hundred more so you can lug these books around."
Well, I discovered a website that actually makes me feel a bit giddy about buying textbooks. That's right, I just used giddy and textbooks in the same sentence. Campus Book Rentals offers a way for students to rent textbooks and save a whole lot of cash.
By using Campus Book Rentals, you could save 40 to 90 percent on your textbooks. There are flexible renting periods, free shipping both ways, and you can also highlight in the textbooks as if you owned them.
For my Social Deviance class, my textbook through a campus bookstore would cost $111.70. I can rent the same textbook from Campus Book Rentals for $18.39. Here is proof.
Luna and I are both pretty stoked about this situation. If you are stressing about textbooks, I suggest checking out Campus Book Rentals by clicking here. There are also several videos within their site describing how the renting process goes.
Another reason I am so excited about this company is not just because purchasing textbooks puts a smile on my face, it also puts smiles on the faces of children in need. Campus Book Rentals donates to Operation Smile with every textbook purchased. Operation Smile is an organization that provides cleft lip and cleft palate surgeries for children around the globe. It's a super cool organization, guys.
So there you go, buying textbooks can cause several smiles and save several dollars. It doesn't get much better than that.
Also, I hear it is a bad study habit to do your textbook reading on your bed. So don't do it. Especially if your bed is messy and unmade like mine is. My good mother would be so disappointed in me.
*This post is sponsored by Campus Book Rentals, but all opinions shared are my own.
The holidays are over, I've been skipping out on my morning gym routine and sleeping in instead, and I think I ate my own body weight in fudge and cinnamon rolls. Now do you know what time it is? Tis the season to wear bulky sweaters. Not only are they warm, but they also hide the food baby.
