Shuffle

It's nice to be sitting at my own computer at home. Not only that, but I'm facing a window and the tree in my yard is making me smile. The green leaves are starting to glow yellow with autumn. I'm beginning to feel at home in our new place. Things are still in boxes and it will be a long while until we are completely settled, but I have a bed to sleep in and I finally went grocery shopping so all is well.

The past week has been a whirlwind. My computer was packed up so I was unable to blog. I was so busy at work too that I wouldn't have had time to blog whether my computer was in a box or on a desk. I am also going out of town with my mom all of next week and I don't even want to think about the packing. The trip will be nice. Packing, not so much.

I'm looking forward to a weekend filled with catching up and relaxing. Conference Weekend is always a goody. Things will be even better if USU beats BYU tonight.

I've decided to do this new thang called "Shuffle". Since I am a radio deejay and all, I figure I should incorporate some more music into my blog. So, here's the deal. I put my iPod on shuffle. The first 10 songs to come up are the ones I share here. Although I deejay on a Top 40 station, my taste in music is very broad and random. Hope you find something below that makes you want to sing in the shower.

1. Almost Lover - Fine Frenzy

2. Mrs. Robinson - Simon and Garfunkel 

3. The Quiz - Hello Saferide 

4. Corona and Lime - Shwayze

5. Sweater Weather - The Neighbourhood

6. Love Is Blindness - Jack White

7. Typical - Tickle Me Pink

8. Angel - Aerosmith

9. Begin Again - Taylor Swift

10. Give Me Everything - Pitbull (feat. Ne-Yo, Afrojack & Nayer

How was that for random? Well, gotta go dress in more layers and head off to the football game. Let's go, Aggies!

Truth Tuesday

• The truth is, I don't have time to blog today. Sorry. Maybe I'll have more time after finals. Thanks for being so understanding.

• Also, it drives me nuts that there are no apostrophes on the "its" in this quote, because there should be. But it describes how I feel perfectly. Total brain sneeze. So I am letting the bad grammar slide just this once.

Sunday Best: Comfort Clothes

cardi: Kohl's, dress: thrifted, leggings: Forever 21, boots: Zappos, belt: Forever 21, horse necklace: rue 21

Can we just talk about how leggings are my saving grace? It's guaranteed I'll be incorporating them into my outfits this week. That way, it'll take little effort for me to get comfy after I crawl home from school and work. . .just pull all clothes off except the leggings, then pull on an extra large t-shirt. Yes, I'll admit it, that is exactly what happened with this outfit. Saturday night, I took this dress off and replaced it with an old volleyball t-shirt big enough to hold a circus. And I was completely happy. 

Can we also talk about how group projects are a terrible idea? Who is the imbecile who invented those thinking it was clever? Probably some teacher who thought, "I want all my students to FAIL." The last group project I had to do, I got to be that person in the group. The one who did all the work. I have another group project due this week. My group members are awesome, but our schedules are not. We have hardly been able to meet.We still have so much to do and our presentation and papers are due Thursday. I'll just be a nervous wreck wearing leggings and overly large t-shirts until then. 

Also, can we just talk about what a comfort food mac & cheese is? The cheesiness makes me feel like my biggest homework worries are practicing my alphabet in cursive again. Those were the days. 

Happy Dead Week, and then on to finals! My leggings and my mac & cheese are going to help me through to graduation.    

What helps you survive terrible weeks? 

Fighting the Winter Blues

It's a beautiful day. The sun is shining in through my window, warming my face, and we are supposed to have a high of a whopping 37 degrees! While I can feel spring in the air, I have a feeling there will still be a few blustery winter days ahead.

I always thought seasonal affective disorder was a myth until this winter. I have definitely felt myself dragging my feet and I don't really have a reason to. Now don't get me wrong, I love winter, but there comes a time when I am ready to move on to the next season! And that time is now! I've missed the sun and I've missed my outside time. So over the cold months, I've tried to find ways to fight off my cabin fever and stay afloat until spring finds us. Here are five tips I have tried and have seen results from.

1. Exercise and eat right 

We hear this all the time, but it can be hard to do. I absolutely love working out when I can do it outside. However, when I am confined to doing my cardio indoors or on a treadmill, I get a little bored and discouraged. There have been many days this winter where I think, "I'm cold. I don't want to change into my workout clothes and go to the gym." But on the days I do that and stay home, I regret it. I always end up feeling sluggish. I've found that fighting through the torture and starting my day with getting my body moving really helps my mood. Those endorphines can fight off any case of the winter blues. Eating veggies and fruits helps too, and drinking lots of water. I recently stopped drinking soda and replaced it with water. It's amazing how much better I feel!

2. Take advantage of the sun when it decides to come out

Winter doesn't mean the sun dies or goes away. There are still plenty of cheerful and sunny days during the cold months. When those days happen, get your tush outside! Your body is begging for that Vitamin D! Sure, you might have to wear several layers of clothes, but it's worth it to get numb fingers in exchange for a little soaked up sun. Brian and I have been good about taking lots of walks this winter. When the weather is nice, we pull our boots on and head outside like there's no tomorrow. We have really enjoyed taking winter walks along our favorite river trail in town. So take a walk, go sledding, build a snowman. Just get yo' bad self out of your house.

3. Play with your space

Since you are confined to the indoors a lot more in the winter, don't let your living quarters bore you. Be innovative and find ways to express your creativity in your home. Last month, I finally opened the door to that one room in our home. You know, the room where you throw all your boxes of stuff, lock the door, and pretend it doesn't exist? Oh, you don't have one of those rooms? My bad. Well, I finally cleaned that room out. Then I went on and made some wall art to hang, thrifted an awesome globe to set on an end table, made up our futon all cute, and now the scary room is a presentable guest room. It's actually one of my favorite rooms in the house now. It's funny how changing something up that you are around every day can affect your mood. So rearrange your furniture, get rid of that junk, and start the latest home decor project that you pinned on Pinterest.

4. Have something to look forward to

Spring break has often times been my saving grace when it comes to not losing my mind during this time of year. It helps to have a trip to plan for on those miserable and stormy nights. During the blizzard warnings, you can distract yourself by swimsuit shopping or finding the perfect pair of sandals. And when I say have something to look forward to, it doesn't even have to be a major trip. Plan on having a  themed party with your friends. You can fight off any winter blues with planning party treats, games, and decorations. Looking forward to something fun, no matter how big or small, is a good way to stay busy and happy.

5. Treat yourself

I think I've taken more bubble baths this winter than ever in my life (okay, slight exaggeration). But I'm fine with that, because those bubble baths have kept me sane. After a busy day of trudging through snow and ice, set some time aside for you. Light some candles, fill your tub with bubbles and bath salts, and read your favorite book while you soak the blues away. Buy yourself a new bottle of BRIGHT nail polish. Fun colors on my fingers always stop me from feeling depressed. Rent your favorite movie. Give yourself a facial. Take a nap if you need one. Rewarding yourself with little treats will help motivate you to take on the negative degree weather.

So there are my five simple things I've been using a lot since January. Hang in there friends. Umbrellas, tulips, baby animals, tan lines, and pastels are in the distance. We got this.

 

How Lovely to Meet You

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.

Truth Tuesday

• How is it that I cannot focus for longer than five minutes to write this research paper? How? 

• How is it that my period and finals week always coincide? How? Too much info? Oh, sorry. 

• I love USU's football coach, Gary Andersen. And this article from ESPN is sort of why I love him. He has two Great Danes named Aggie and Big Blue. How cute is that? 

• I cannot and will not stop listening to this gem. I'm obsessed. 

• I told myself I was through with signing up for half marathons for a while. They stress me out. I can't even imagine running a full. But. . .guess what I did? I signed up for another half marathon. It's in May. I guess I should start running more than three miles when I go to the gym, huh? That might be a good idea. I blame my mom and aunt. They talked me into doing it with them. But guess what? The husband is in on the stress and training with me since he's running it too! Hooray for having people to stress with. 

• I just spelled hooray wrong about three times before getting it right. I think someone is tired. 

• I feel compelled to buy every color of tights for this winter season. Nothing says happy legs like colorful tights.

• Brian and I are obsessed with burning candles lately. Our living room smells like cinnamon and our bedroom smells like sugar cookies. It's delightful. 

• How amaze-balls is this sweater? Home Alone fans unite. 

Truth Tuesday

Just because it's Tuesday and I'm being blatantly honest. . .

• I need to start exercising again. I'm dragging my feet. Whenever I break my workout routine, I get cranky. 

• I fear my van won't make it through the winter. She already screams like a banshee (if banshees scream). Like she squeals so bad that people are turning to look at who is coming before I'm even in viewing distance. How embarrassing. 

• I like to make things harder than they actually are. And I need to stop it before I drop over dead from all the stress I create for myself. 

• I probably won't get any sleep tonight. 

• Brian and I went to a Kalai concert on campus last night and it was so great! That's about the fifth or sixth concert of his I've been to and he never gets old. His music is like a nice pillow. If you don't know Kalai, take a listen to one of my faves from him. You're welcome. 

• If you have any suggestions of what I should be when I grow up, I'm open to them. Because I can't make up my mind. 

Instagrams & Milk

It's been one of those weeks. You know, the ones where you have multiple tests and papers due? The ones where you have weird dreams that your husband brings home somebody else's baby to take care of and you get kind of upset about it? The ones where you show up for your dentist appointment a whole week early and it's kind of embarrassing? The ones where you are deliriously shaving your armpits in the shower and you somehow manage to cut your hip (I look like an uncoordinated five year old with the amount of band-aids I have on my body from this weeks mishaps)?

What do you mean you haven't had all those things happen to you? Are you implying that I'm a crazy person?

Well, let's just change the subject then and talk about Instagram. Here's what's been on my feed lately:

Ah, football games. Go Aggies! 

A 5k with my mom and brother

Our night drive ended here :) 

A little crepe date with my brother and cousin. They are both at USU with me! How lucky am I? 

late night crafting

Playing anchors for the day on our A-TV News broadcast. 

Luna thinks I'm silly for getting ready every morning 

Sitting in a dragster! It was built by USU students, and they also created the fuel that runs it too! 

My friend, Ryan, just getting awesome footage from that truck. This story was a lot of fun to do! 

Look what our primary kids left on our doorstep. Cute, huh? 

Bunkered down at my own personal edit bay 

We live near a trampoline park. We kinda go there a lot.

Sushi date night

More anchoring with Miss Romina 

A bath with butterfly fizz bombs after a stressful day. 

Frightmares at Lagoon 

The best ride at Lagoon 

If you'd like to follow me to take a look into the life of a crazy person, my username is @mrskellwell. I'll follow you back too, because I really enjoy looking at pictures from normal people's lives. 

Well, I better go. We are hosting a party at our house for the USU vs. BYU football game. I sort of have butterflies actually. Go U-State! Bring that wagon wheel back to Logan! 

Sunday Best: Caging the Beast

I'm breaking out like I'm thirteen again and for the past week I've felt as if all my clothes fit me awkwardly. I've  been tempted once or twice to drop out of school and just move to a beach in some foreign country and sell t-shirts with funny sayings on them. And I'd let my hair grow out and never comb it so I would end up with some wicked dreds and life would just be oh so chill. But then I remember that education is important. . .yadda yadda yadda. . .I want my degree. . .blah blah blah.

I really do enjoy school. I love learning new things. It's exhilarating. I just hate how much it consumes my life sometimes. And I just want to have a free schedule where I don't have to meet a deadline or stress about getting a project done. You see, I have this perfectionist living within me, usually I keep her caged up, but every now and again she escapes and makes my life treacherous. And I go crazy and just want to kill her so I can enjoy life. Because life should be enjoyed.

So on Saturday, I compromised a bit, I worked on homework during the day and by night, I partied it up a bit. We went with one of our favorite couples, Drew and Megan, to dinner and a movie. Then we even indulged in a shake after. And I wore an outfit that made me feel so free and fine, and the makeup on my face even seemed to cover up my zitty face a bit. Life was good.

shoes: Target, floral print skinnies: Forever 21, top: Dillard's, feather earrings: Claire's, 

I plan on doing the same thing tomorrow with my day off. Catch up on work and then play a little later in the day. Maybe think of some way to honor all my US Presidents. We'll see if I can stay focused, and we'll also see how long I can keep the perfectionist beast on her leash.

I love you readers out there. Enjoy life for me, will ya? Besides cute outfits, I recommend: yoga, bubble baths, cuddling, running, laughing, petting puppies, and drinking chocolate milk.

school girl

I went back to school today. As much as I'm trying to be excited about school starting again I'm just. .not.

If I could have one more month of summer, I think things would be good. Really good. However, Kelsey Keller Weller is not in charge of creating the calendar and it's a good thing or nothing would get done. Every day would probably be a holiday and everyone would play and eat yummy desserts.

So yeah, I went to my classes and realized that I felt very overwhelmed. And I still do feel overwhelmed. In the past, I go to class in the morning and I'm done by noon. Today I went to class in the morning and got home at 5. I got home at 5, crashed on the couch and ate a Fudge Round.

Why do I feel so overwhelmed? I believe it is because I am finally to that point that every college students dreams of. The moment you no longer are forced to take classes that you have zero interest in. The moment all the classes you take sound interesting and apply to your major. Yep, I'm to that moment. I should be happy, right? But I'm afraid. I'm afraid that I might fail at things I think I'm good at.

But let's get real, I'm a real worrier and can be quite the drama queen when I want to be. I am sure once I get into my routine, I'll be lovin' life. I am so so blessed I even have the chance to gain a higher education.

So tomorrow I vow to not think about failure and not eat any more Fudge Rounds (at least tomorrow I won't eat one). It will be a better day. Especially since I have English 2010 with husband and Shay Baybay. How is that not a good day, really?

And Bri Guy took the traditional 'first day of school' pic for me. It just wouldn't be the first day of school without it. . .  

Not that it matters but: top-modcloth, skirt-homemade, sandals-Head Over Heels, earrings-Target
Gnomeo-amazon.com

Oh, and Brian hates this shirt. He doesn't understand that peter pan collars are cool nowadays. He calls me Daisy Duck when I wear it. It's fine. His harassment only motivates me to wear it more. And usually these things end up growing on him.

Gag Reflex

"Now I'm going to swab the back of your throat. We need a sample of your mucus to check for strep."
Oh, how lovely.
Of course, it will probably be a breeze. One quick swab and then my throat will be left alone.

"You have an hour left," announced my stats professor from the front of the room. I glanced at the clock and then looked quickly back at my paper. I had not made much progress in the last fifty minutes. I quickly thumbed through all the blank pages I had left.

Come on, brain! Think!!

I studied this stuff for three hours straight the night before with my study group. I could do everything fine then. But as much as I tried thinking, I couldn't get past how heavy my head felt. Was it just me, or was it swelling? I felt like I was going to tip over from the weight of it.

Ah! Focus, Kelsey. T-tests. Not mucus-filled head. Work out the T-test. 

She walked forward, holding the swab out. She had put a mask over her face. I felt like an infected animal. Oh, how I despise being sick. I despise it with all my being.
As she reached her swab toward me and told me to open wide, I tried to think back on the last time I had been in one of these horrible doctor offices, being treated for some despicable illness. I couldn't remember when the last time was. It had been a couple years, at the least. I lost my train of thought after I realized her hand was in my mouth. It was going back further. And further. And further.

"Ten more minutes!" 

Whoa, what? Only ten? Where did the last fifty minutes go?  

I feel my nose start to drip. How embarrassing.

I reach down and grab another tissue from my tissue box I brought from home. How embarrassing again. Stupid tissue box. It seems to be grinning menacingly at me, saying, "Go on, Kelsey. Take another tissue. Wipe your nose raw."

I quietly wipe and turn back to the problem. I start plugging things into my calculator, praying it will reveal an answer to me that might make sense.

I only have ten more minutes. Well, probably nine now.

I feel the swab run against the back of my throat.
That wasn't bad.
Oh, it wasn't over yet. This lady was swab happy.
She kept rubbing,and it almost felt as if she was rubbing with an almost vicious nature. I started feeling discomfort.
"This may bring your gag reflex on. Don't back away from me."
I don't feel like those two sentences should be used together. Unless you are a bulimic and your finger is talking to you, maybe. But even that would be very strange.
I feel my body coil and I begin to gag. My body starts backing away, as it should.
Fight or flight.
Good body.
However, I try to do as I am told and demand my body to give into the evil gagging swab.

"Only two more minutes!" 

I am trying not to panic. 

It doesn't work. 

I about knock everything off my desk, and in the process, the pile of used tissues in my lap goes falling across the floor. 

I feel like a disgusting, disgrace of a person at this point. 

I frantically grab in different directions for the mucus covered tissues, hoping no one noticed. 

I am running out of time, so I start to guess and just write things down.

Maybe by writing something down, I'll manage to pick up a couple points from the darn 20 problem question I forgot how to do.

I am really gagging now and it is bringing on my awful dry cough. Except thanks to our friend, Mr. Swab, it is no longer a dry cough. I cough in her face, sending spit and who knows what else straight her way. I quickly cover my mouth as she pulls the swab out. I am so utterly embarrassed.
Good thing she put that mask on.

I gather up my things and quickly hand my test in.

I walk outside. 

The weather is unbelievably nice today. 

Too bad I can't enjoy it. 

I pass people who are out enjoying the nice day, wearing shorts and trying to catch a tan. 

I look at the ground and pull my sweatshirt tightly around my fevering body. 

Why must my nearly flawless immune system fail me now?

I sure hope I passed stats. I want to be done with math already.

If you run into me, I could sure use a hug. I promise I won't cough on you.    

Optimism

Anyone else feeling a bit like this in preparation for finals?


Things will get better though. Only a bit longer, and I will be done with boring classes that I have no interest in.

Wanna see how fun my Fall 2011 semester is lookin'?

Social Inequality

English 2010 (finally)

Fiction Writing

Writing for Electronic Media

Newscast I

Lots and lots of writing papers in my future! Woooooo hoooooo!!! I'm so excited! It is almost disgusting how excited I am. I will choose to do projects and write papers any day before I choose to take a test.

Good luck, USU students! Summer really is in sight!   

My Saturday-Sunday With a Cherry On Top.

My waste basket was filling up quickly with toilet paper. Toilet paper from the whole roll that Brian had brought me to wipe tears and snot off my face. My week had been, sad to say, lousy. I had been slightly off all week and I felt overwhelmed with stress, and Friday night was now treating me with a splitting headache.

"I---hate---crying," I gasped through tears. Brian just patted my back and continued to let me cry. I do not cry often for myself like this. It is a rarity. But let's just say when it rains, it pours.

I then decided I just wanted to go to sleep. Brian tucked me in. That is, after him and Shayla had brought me Ben & Jerry's. As Brian shut my door, I called to him from my lump of blankets,

"Brian? Tomorrow when I wake up, will you go on an adventure with me?"

He smiled and answered yes, not to worry, it would be a new day.

Our adventures together are my favorite.

Weekends are also my favorite.

Sometimes. . .weekends are just what a person needs.

They can be healing, like some sort of magical medicine.

They can be a real treat.

They can be a nice break, just enough to catch my breath.

Saturday morning, I woke up and got to work with things that needed to be done. Lesson for church, laundry, some homework. Then noon came, and I was hungry.

So Brian took me to lunch at the cutest Thai place.

I would love to go to Thailand one day, so I was excited to try their food out. One of mine and Bri's favorite things is to try new and random places to eat. Especially food that isn't American. I can pretend for a moment that I am in a different part of the world. You can bet that I pretended as we ate the lunch buffet.

Then, I went to the most magical store on earth. It is one I could stay in for hours if a person would let me.

That store is Borders.

The instant we walked through the doors, a feeling of calm peace washed over me. I seriously stood there and closed my eyes, and took a big whiff of the wonderful smells of Borders. The scent of paper mixed with coffee and pastries filled my nostrils. I was in heaven.

I decided buying a book would be my fix. But just one book. That's all a girl like me can afford. Do you have any idea what a challenge it was?

I had a stack of books to select from. Bad news. I would be walking, and a cover would just catch my eye. So I would run my hand across it and feel the story within it screaming, "Read me! Read me!"

I finally narrowed it down to two choices: The Time Traveler's Wife or Wicked.

Which one did I choose?

Walking out of Borders, I was a happy girl, but little did I know, the adventure of our Saturday was just beginning.

Dallin Webb (I call him Dal Pal because he secretly loves it) informed Brian and I that we could go to the Jazz game with him if we wished. We wished yes. So we went. Five of us crammed into a tiny car and drove to Salt Lake. We made it right as the game was starting. Best part? We sat in the sky box. Between sitting above everything and having never ending amounts of free food, I was on cloud nine. The Jazz played awful and got pounded, but I could have cared less. I went to a Jazz game for free and got free dinner, spice cake, and pop corn as well and that was all that mattered. And I got in free all on account of pretending I was interested in selling pest control in the summer.

Then of course, Sunday brought the Superbowl. I have always considered the Superbowl a holiday. Brian and I ventured to Idaho, where we were welcomed by my family and lots of snacks.

To sum up my feelings on the Superbowl:

• 
  
  I was happy the Packers won.
  


• 
  
  Christina Aguilera really needs to learn the words to her country's National Anthem.
  


• 
  
  BEP are not the best live singers, but they know how to entertain an audience.
  


• 
  
  I aspire to be one of their dancers and wear a glowing costume.
  
  


• 
  
  I do not feel that the Pack's QB deserved the MVP award.

A Free Laugh

All of us are probably experiencing one stressful thing or another. My stressful thing is that I have finals this week. So I want to post a wonderful treasure of a picture, so we can all look at it and laugh if we start feeling stressed or down.

I hope this is half as funny as I actually think it is. . .because I find it hilarious.

Everyone, meet Chloe Ann Keller. My baby sister. As you can see, I am gonna have so much dirt on this child when she begins dating boys. Not only am I providing you all comic relief, but I am making a child's Christmas wish come true.

You see, my brother, Jace, told me an amusing story tonight.

Apparently, Chloe was making a Christmas wish list recently. She was working hard on this list, writing her deepest desires on that piece of paper. When she had finished, Jace was curious, so he took a peek at the list. He told me on the list were typical things an 8 year old girl would ask Santa for. However, something on her list had been scribbled out. Like any curious person would be, Jace wanted to decipher what Chloe had scribbled out. The reason unknown. Jace could still see pretty clearly what Chloe had written down. Chloe's scribbled out request for Santa was

. . . ."to be the funniest person in the world."

You got it Chlo-Jo. I'm letting everyone know that you are the funniest person out there.

Green Beans

You know when you have one of those days that it seems like the whole world hates you? Like every possible thing that could go wrong. . .goes wrong. And all day you just pray for the day to go by fast so it can end? Like you wanna go crawl in your bed and hide? Or throw dishes at the wall so you can break something, just to feel it break? Yeah, we've all had a day like that. And to put it plainly, those days just suck. I had a bad day like that, but it didn't end. One bad day turned into about four bad days. So I've basically had a bad week. As if bad days aren't bad enough.

My stress level has been through the roof this week. I am the kind of person who has a high tolerance for stress might I add. Things can go wrong for me that would freak other people out, but things don't really get to me that easily. I feel like I'm pretty good about shaking things off. I know how to roll with whatever happens and make the best of it. Sometimes this probably isn't good, because things that should worry me, don't. I also like being busy, so I take on tons of tasks all at once, and I actually like it. But I guess this week, my pile of tasks got too high and too many things that didn't go my way knocked my pile of tasks to the floor (that sentence sounds awkward, but I don't care. We accept awkward people so we should accept awkward sentences sometimes).

I could make a mega long list of everything that lashed out on me this week, but I won't. I don't want to bore you and I really hate complainers, and I would not want to have to hate myself. So just be creative and think of a zombie Kelsey with no sleep walking about, and you can create for yourself bad things that happened to me. That will be much more fun for everyone. So if you secretly don't like me and you're reading this, feel free to drop a piano on me if you will.

However, Wednesday night, as I was feeling bad for myself and wondering what could go wrong next, I started doing some serious thinking. Maybe everything bad was happening to me because I was looking for the bad. Instead of looking for any good, I was putting all my focus on the horrible. Instead of trying to be happy, I was choosing to drown in a bathtub of my self-pity.

Happiness really is a choice, my friends.

Just as I was thinking this, I watched as a shooting star shot across the sky. Look at that, a wish for me! At this time, I was driving home to Weston, so I could go to my 7:30 am hair appointment (who needs sleep, right?). When I turned on our lane to drive up the hill, I felt a huge smile creep onto my sleepy face. My dog, Ringo was greeting me. Ringo loves me, I won't even try and deny it. Every time, without fail, that I come home, he runs to the bottom of the hill and then runs back up alongside my van. He did this like he does every other time. When I threw the van in park after I pulled into our driveway, I saw Ringo sitting patiently by my door, just like always. I smiled because I knew what would happen next. I threw the door open and Ringo jumped inside, onto my lap. I felt important having someone so excited to see me, even if it was just a dog. My other dog, with only three legs, greeted me shortly after. I love my puppies.

The next morning, I found some more happy things waiting for me to find them. Before I stepped inside my van, I looked at the mountain right behind our house, and my jaw dropped. The mountain is covered with trees, and the leaves are all changing colors. The mountain was illuminated with oranges, reds, and yellows. Then I remembered a time when I was younger, and that mountain was bare of all trees, due to a horrible fire caused by a summer lightening storm. That mountain has came a long way since then.

Then, I drove down the road a ways to find another pleasant surprise. The sun hadn't been up long, so everything was bright. I looked past the rays of sun to see two baby deer in the road. They were quite young, and so adorable. I scared them pretty bad, and they didn't know what to do. They ran one direction, then the other, then the other. I looked around and saw no mommy. Mommy deer are always close to their babies. Then I noticed lying in the weeds, a dead deer. Probably the mommy. That made me sad. "At least when I feel lost, I have a mommy," I thought.

The rest of the day, I tried looking for more good things, and I found quite a few:

1. I got my hair colored, and it feels nice.






2. I think I did well on my video editing quiz. I think.






3. Shayla let me have a yummy muffin she made.






4. I wore my new shirt which was only $7 and is super cute. I got several compliments on it as well.






5. My mom bought me owl earrings.






6. I felt the warm sun on my shoulders.






7. I played volleyball.






8. My boss gave me a rootbeer float AND a doughnut.






9. Brian made me dinner.






10. Brian took me to a movie.






11. Brian bought me a Mountain Dew and TWO candy bars for the movie.






12. Brian didn't dump me after I randomly started crying at the end of the night.
    

So this week was a little rough, but things are getting better. They always do. I decided it's kind of like green beans. I hate green beans. I think they are disgusting. And I am not picky when it comes to food. I will eat them, but I don't particularly love them.

But I remember when I was little, and I never wanted to finish my green beans. My dad would always say,

"You can't have dessert until you finish ALL your green beans."

ALL of them? Seriously? And taking dessert away from me was like the worst thing possible. So I'd gag those green beans down so I could have whatever dessert my mom had made. Every time the green beans started to taste real bad, I would think about the taste of chocolate I could soon have in my mouth. It always helped. Always.

My week has been a plate full of green beans, but it sure is easier when I think of the chocolate I'll eat when the beans are all gone. And I'll be having that chocolate soon.

DATE NIGHT