Blog Challenge, Day 19: Another Blogger

Honestly, I wish that this prompt was more exciting but it is a challenge, so here it goes.

Due to my hectic schedule and life, I really don't have very much time to read many other blogs. I try to as much as possible to get new ideas, get some inspiration and just to enjoy reading and learning about the lives of many other people brave enough to share their stories. But there are not many that I follow religiously, if I'm going to be completely honest. However, that is not the case with one blogger in particular, Story of My Life.

I stumbled across her blog just about 2 weeks ago, maybe a little longer than that and I have been loving every post so far. Her name is Jenni and she is a photographer and she uses her blogs to write and share her photographs with the world. Her posts are generally very sweet, cute, quirky, charming and funny. I think that she's a lot older than me but she seems to have quite a lot in common with me and I enjoy reading about her laid-back lifestyle.

She seems to be one of those people that really appreciate the beauty of life and the beauty of others. She is more relaxed and care-free than most adults I know and that is what makes me feel so connected with her. I picture myself as someone like her in the future, so I enjoy knowing what is going on in her life. So, you should definitely check her out sometime. You'll be glad you did.

Blog Challenge, Day 18: A Childhood Memory

So today's challenge is to talk about a memory that we can remember very clearly. I am going to be honest, since most of my readers are people that I know, I don't like to give out their personal information or stories about them. Basically, that means that a lot of the stories that I want to tell, I don't feel comfortable telling. So instead, I'll tell a story about someone that I have not spoken to or seen in years and I'll do the best that I can.

By now, you should know that I don't have very many friends. I'm very shy, introverted and selective in my friends and in any aspect of my social life. So elementary school was really challenging for me. But in the third grade, I met a girl named Courtney who changed everything. I know that I mentioned in a previous blog that my best friend for most of my life was a boy that I met in the third grade but that was at the end of the year. These events all happened before I met him.

Courtney moved into my neighborhood not long after school started. As you can probably guess, I didn't have many friends and when she moved in, I was really excited. Then I found out that we were in the same class and it got even better. We bonded instantly and for the first time, I was going over to another girl's house, swimming, going to skating rinks, going out to lunch with her family, having sleepovers, etc. I finally had someone to bond to and really felt like I knew what it was like to have a best friend.

Courtney was a girl that came from a divorced family. Being a very sheltered child who lived with both of her parents, I didn't understand what divorce meant. But she lived with her father and stepmother and towards the end of the school year, they split up. I'm not sure why but Courtney and her father soon moved away, as well as her stepmother. It was heartbreaking to say goodbye to someone that I really felt that I needed and connected with. She was the only kid that I had met so far that accepted my personality and understood me because she was so much like me.

It was the first time that I had ever really experienced the loss of a friend. A friend of mine had moved away in kindergarten but I didn't remember him, so I don't count that experience. Courtney and I decided that she was going to write me when she got to her new home and we would be pen pals. Unfortunately, we only exchanged a few letters before we truly grew apart and got on with our lives and we were never able to visit each other. Luckily, I met my new best friend a few weeks later and we had a really steady, long friendship all the way through high school, so I guess it worked out okay.

Sometimes I wonder how different my life would've been if we had been able to stay friends but I can't dwell on what might have been. I was young, impressionable and not having Courtney seemed like the end of the world at the time. But I couldn't control everything and I had to let her go but hey... it sounds like life to me.

Blog Challenge, Day 17: My Favorite Photo

This is by far my favorite photo of me. I love that I'm calling my husband out to the dance floor and it looks both sexy and innocent. I also love the fact that it's black and white and I look like I have a spotlight on me because of my uncle's camera. I just truly feel like it represents how beautiful and confident that I felt that night.

Blog Challenge, Day 16: My "Lot in Life"

I was a little confused by the explanation for today's challenge but I think that I basically got the gist of it. Basically, you have to write about the difficult people or difficult everyday challenges that you face and how you overcome them. I'm very lucky that I have a supportive and loving family, so I don't really have to worry about overcoming any challenges with them. As far as obstacles go, my biggest challenge is dealing with my arm injuries.

It's really hard to explain what is wrong with my shoulders but basically, they are deteriorating at a fast pace. I can't lift things, I have difficulty pushing things, doing everyday things is not easy for me. Luckily, my family is really accommodating and they help me out but I'm stubborn and I like to do things myself. So, sometimes I push myself a bit too far and end up putting myself in severe pain. However, I have gotten better about knowing my limits and listening to my body.

But at work, it's hard. At my job, there is a lot of scrubbing, lifting and repetitive motions that I have to do. Therefore, I end up hurting myself almost every night. Even when I ask other people for help, I always end up leaving work a little sore. It's okay. It's something that I've learned to live with; it just makes things like driving, typing, holding books, doing dishes, etc., really difficult and I have to do them at a slower pace.

I have to do whatever I can to preserve the use of my arms. It is a struggle everyday because you don't realize how much you need something or use something until you can't have it anymore. Before I was about, I wanna say 14 years old, I didn't have any issues with my shoulders. Now, I can't go a whole day without dislocating them or having to pop them back into the socket. However, it's so mundane and normal to me now, that I forget that it grosses some people out. So, it's not fun when you get dirty looks or looks of disgust when your arms pop out in public. But I digress, it is what it is.

My body is mine and I have to love it the way that it was given to me. I have been told that I could get a certain type of surgery for it but it would be temporary and I would have to get it once every few years. To me, it's not worth it because they say that recovery could take up to a year after the surgery. But it's not so bad. If the only real problem in my life is that I have some unavoidable pain, it's not so bad and hey... it sounds like life to me.

Blog Challenge, Day 15: A Day in the Life

Basically, today's challenge is to write about what a normal day is like for me. Not the most interesting post, in my opinion but here it goes.

9:00-9:30- Wake up
9:30-10:00- Have my morning coffee
10:00-3:00- Run errands, write blogs, go to library, etc. This is pretty much my "get everything done" time.
3:00-3:20- Get ready for work
3:20-3:45- Drive to work
3:45-10:30- Work
10:30-10:55- Drive home
11:00- Bedtime- Basically, I shower, get changed, wind down on the internet and go to bed. Then, repeat.

This schedule will change once school starts but this is it. Sorry that it's not very exciting. Hopefully tomorrow's post will be.

Blog Challenge, Day 14: 10 Happy Things

So today's prompt is to make a list of ten things that make me happy. I had a really hard time narrowing my list down to ten things but here they are! They are in no particular order!

1. Disney!- Whether it is Disney World, Disney merchandise or Disney movies, anything with the word
"Disney" makes me smile!


2. Writing- It doesn't matter if it is blogging, poetry or story-telling, I just love any form of writing!



3. My family- There are no words to describe the happiness my family brings me.



4. Reading- I love losing myself in a book, getting lost in another person's thoughts and exploring another world that I didn't know existed.


5. Movie nights- I love curling up under a blanket with some ice cream and watching old movies on the couch during the weekends. It is my favorite way to relax and unwind.


6. Learning about weddings- I just love watching wedding shows and looking up unique weddings online. They are just days when everyone is happy and celebrating. I just love seeing large groups of people coming together for love.



7. Being an older sister- My little sister, Kelly, is one of my favorite people in the world. From the second that my mother told me she was pregnant, I was so excited for her arrival. I wanted to take care of that beautiful little baby girl and I wanted to be there for her. Sometimes I overstep my boundaries but I can't help it because I love her so much. She is my best friend. She makes me want to be a better person and she inspires me to be as confident and sure of myself as she is. She is the greatest gift that my parents ever got me. I would not trade being her older sister for anything in the world. She is my greatest adventure.



8. Picturing my life as a mom- I want to be a mom so badly and I keep thinking that one day, I will be as close with my kids as I am with my mom. I can't wait for that experience.



9. My dog- My dog, Zach, and I are very close. He sleeps next to me every night and he never leaves my side when I'm at home. He is so loving, friendly and cute that I can't not be happy when I see him.


Sorry, I had a really hard time finding a picture of my dog on my computer. Oh, well. I'll just keep his cuteness to myself. :)

10. Spieling Peter and Carebear Wendy- These people are otherwise known as Andrew and Hali Ducote. They played Wendy and Peter Pan at Disneyland and were high school sweethearts. Now, they are married and living their dream life. They inspire me with their love and they show that high school sweethearts can make it work. Also, the Peter Pan couple aspect of their relationship is the cutest thing that I've ever heard.

Blog Challenge, Day 13: Issue A Public Apology

Dear Kristopher,
I know that we both are not perfect and I know that our journey together hasn't always been easy. But it has been as close to perfect as it possibly could've been. There have been many bumps along the road and I know that I caused a lot of them. Out of everything that I could apologize for, that is my biggest regret.

When we first started dating, we both had a lot of growing up to do. However, I was very set in my ways, very stubborn and not very reasonable. I held grudges and passed judgment on things that happened in your past, even things before we met because I saw things in black and white. I held onto those grudges and had a really hard time letting them go. It caused a really large strain on our relationship and made way for a lot of fights.

Through intense therapy and a long, thorough journey of self discovery, I learned that you can't hold onto the past, especially things that happened before we even got together. A person's teenage years are the times when people make the most mistakes and they start to become who they want to be, as it should be.

As someone who never went out on the weekends and didn't have a lot of friends, I didn't have the opportunities to make the same mistakes that everyone else did; therefore, it wasn't fair for me to place any judgment on you, to tell you how you should have lived your life or cause any unnecessary fights between us.

I am glad that I could get over my previous issues and learn to be a more accepting person. You shouldn't have had to put up with that. However, I am glad to be a person that still doesn't deserve you but strives everyday to change that. One day, I hope that I will deserve you and I hope that you forgive me for our rocky start to our relationship. Thank you for choosing me to spend the rest of your life with.

I love you,
Chelsea