Instagrams & Milk: Vegas In Instas

So ready for the weekend o'er here. Apparently spring break decided to come back and bite me in the butt. I think I'm still in Vegas mode. You know: sleep in, be lazy, go to the pool, stay up til all odd hours of the night. But I need to get back to normal mode. Wake up at 4:30, work, class, gym, homework, bed before 11. That sort of a thing.

In my first class today after I left work at the radio station, I could literally not keep my eyes open. During the fifty minute span of class, I kept fading off. Just taking a look at my notebook would give you an idea of how tired I was. Every bullet point starts with clear legible words and by the end, it fades off into scribbles. Those scribbles are the parts where I went to sleep. It was almost so pathetic it was funny. I would come to, look down, and realize my pen was moving across the paper, but I had no idea what I was writing. And that my friends, is why sleep is important. So I'll be catching up on it over the weekend.

In the meantime, here are some grammy grams from Las Vegas. . .

Find me on Instagram @mrskellwell. We will be insta-friends. It will be insta-good.

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.

 

Truth Tuesday

• I am so burnt out right now. I just finished a big project and now I would like nothing more than to paint my toenails and watch Samantha Who. But the truth of it is, I can't. Brian has his company party tonight and then I still have a radio segment to edit and a paper to write. Boo. 

• Today is my wonderful grandma's 70th birthday!! If you are reading this, Grandma, then happy birthday!! 

• My grandma probably is reading this because she's totally hip and even has a facebook. 

• One day, I will learn how to say no to someone and then not feel guilty afterwards for a solid hour. 

• A friend steered me in the direction of this mashup and I've now had it on repeat. 

• I have never had a Big Mac. Should I try one? I've been considering it lately.

• Sometimes I wonder if Christmas got put in December so people wouldn't get depressed from all the dark and coldness. Not that I'm depressed. I just hear a lot of people suffer from depression in the winter. I would feel a lot happier though if there was some snow on the ground. The ugliness of the brown, dead grass makes me want to kick cute animals. And I love cute animals. 

• When I was little, my brother and I took turns at night sleeping with this stuffed animal snowman. We claimed sleeping with it would make it snow. I swear it worked. 

• My birthday is in less than a month. I'm stoked. And I'm playing with the idea of having a 90s themed party. 

• I will watch Miracle on 34th Street by the end of this week. Mark my words. 

• I may have drooled on myself today when I saw this yummy recipe. 

I hope your Tuesday was/is a terrific one. I'm praying I make it through tomorrow. If I do, I get a reward because Brian and I are going on a little overnight getaway. I better get back to work. Thanks for letting me unwind for a moment and tell you some nonsensical truths! 

Sunday Best: The Pajama Skirt

top: Old Navy, skirt: PacSun, necklace: Smith's, gladiators: Ross 

Occasionally there are days when you just don't want to get ready. PJ days, where you stay in your pajamas, watch reruns of old shows and eat bowls of sugary cereal. I had a day like this on Thursday, July 5th. Apparently we partied too hard on Independence Day because we were feeling pretty lethargic the day after. I think the fact that it rained all day added to our laziness. How I love summer rainstorms.  

I would have simply loved to stay in my pajamas for the entirety of the day, but I just couldn't. You see, I had responsibilities calling my name. I had groceries to buy and errands to run. I had dinner to prepare for the celebration of mine and BWell's 11 month anniversary which was that very day! And a girl just can't wander out in public wearing pajamas and looking like a slob. That's why I only wore pajamas and looked like a slob for half of the day. The other half, I put on my skirt that feels as comfy as pajamas. So I guess I sort of cheated on getting ready. But it doesn't matter. 

It also doesn't matter that we didn't end up having a candlelit dinner in honor of our 11 month anniversary. Because instead we ate tacos and drank Mountain Dew while having a "Back to the Future" marathon. Ten times more romantic, right? Just as the pajama skirt is ten times more comfortable than any other item of clothing I own. 

Make a Wish, Restless Child

It is now 2:22 AM. Whenever the time reads all the same numbers, I usually make a wish. So I am going to make a wish now. But I can't say what it is, or it may not come true.

But what I can say is that I am tired. I am to the point where my body is so tired that I am now numb to it. It is similar to when you are out in the snow and the snow makes your fingers and toes freeze. However, after time passes, you can no longer feel your fingers and toes. They are still cold. Very cold. But so cold it does not matter anymore. Then when you get inside and put them by the fire, they ache. I will probably start aching tomorrow morning. Especially since I have 7:30 class. Boo.

I am stressed. The semester is coming to an end and it is stressing me out. I have various final projects that will be due soon that I still have a lot to work on. I feel like I do homework for hours, but yet I get nowhere because there is still tons to do. It is like this endless journey. Like I am running in a circle or something. I registered for Spring semester classes tonight as well. That is one reason I am still up. I was forced to stay up until midnight so I could be one of the other thousand students jumping on the site to cause it to crash. I was worn out and ready to go to bed tonight at about 9:30. I went to bed last night at 11:00 and it was glorious. I need earlier bedtimes! I also think it is time to find a second job. Especially since thus far, I only have 13 credits for next semester. I am on the waiting list for another class, so we will see what happens. Ah, the life of a grown up! I was one of those wise children that never once wished her childhood away. I knew that being six was where it was at! No responsibility.

Some days I really feel like letting all responsibility and stress go. Being little again. Better yet, just dropping out of life for a few days. I think if we were allowed to do that, the world would be a better place. Sometimes I think all we need is a little break. Time to run away from all worries and pretend to be someone else for a day. That is what I want. On top of all the school stress, I have been super restless lately. This is something that happens often for me. Luckily, it has been a while since I have had my last restless attack. I have been doing well. This one is almost worse though now because I am not use to feeling restless anymore. Those that know me best know that I am a restless, impulsive little thing. And right now, I feel like being impulsive and running away for a few days.

You know what I really wanna do?????

I want to jump in the car with a full tank of gas and just drive. Drive and drive until I run out of gas. When the tank hits empty, we'll see what town I end up in.

Or better yet, I would just love to take a wad of cash and head to the airport. I would just walk up and announce I want to buy a ticket for a flight on standby. Any flight. And then I would see where my money would send me to. Even if it was some lame place on the map I had never heard of, it would not matter one bit. Because in that lame place I never heard of, I wouldn't have to be Kelsey Keller with responsibilities. I could be whoever I wanted. I would stay for the weekend, and then fly back home, ready to take on all responsibility again.

One day, I am going to do that. Count on it.

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