Favorite Holiday Activities

For me, there is no doubt that Christmastime is the best time of the year. There is just something about his time of year that has a magical feel to it. People are cheerful, memories are made and houses everywhere are strung with beautiful lights. But what's also great about the holidays, is all of the stuff that we get to do this one time a year.

I compiled a list of a few things that I love to do and look forward to doing every holiday season.

1. Watching Christmas movies on repeat- I don't know what it is about Christmas movies but I could watch them all day, every day and never get sick of them. There's something about them that just makes me happy and they never fail to bring a smile to my face.

2. Drinking endless amounts of hot cocoa- Even though I celebrate Christmas in Florida, hot cocoa is still a necessity. Seriously, it's not Christmas without hot cocoa and there can never be enough of it!

3. Baking Christmas cookies- There are regular cookies and then there are Christmas cookies. You know the ones I'm talking about. They are the best cookies ever, no competition. My family and I love to blast Christmas songs and bake cookies for hours on end. It is so much fun and it's one of the best ways to get ready for Christmas!

What are some of the things that you and your family like to do for Christmas?

-Chelsea

What Would I Ask My Future Self?

Have you ever thought about where you'll be 5 years from now? 10 years? Maybe 20? Good. I'm glad that I'm not the only one.

I'm one of those people that likes to plan everything but I've recently realized that I can't plan every aspect of my life. But that's probably a good thing. Life would be pretty boring if I knew everything that was going to happen to me. I mean, I never pictured that I'd be married at 20 years old. That was never the plan. But I wouldn't change it.

I still like planning things to a certain degree and when I think about it, I wonder about who I'll be when I'm older. How will I change? What will I go through? What will I achieve?

But when I get down to the core of what I want to know, I only have one question. Will I be happy? That is truly all I want to know. I know that there are certain things that I want out of life: kids, a college degree, published books. But if I had the chance to ask my future self about my life, I wouldn't want to know about how many kids I had or how long it took me to finish college. That would take all of the fun and mystery out of life. I would just want to know if I made good choices that made me happy.

I try to make sure that every decision I make is done with my future happiness in mind. I know too many people that settled on what they wanted and try their best just to get through life. I don't want to be that person. I know that I won't be happy every second of every day for the rest of my life. But I want a life that makes me and my family happy. A life that I'm excited to get out of bed for every single day. At the end of the day, I think that's what most people want.

I know that I'm happy now and I have a really good life. And I can't wait to see where life takes me and find out what happiness awaits me in the future.

If you could ask your future self one thing, what would it be?

-Chelsea

So Much More to Me

Sometimes, I get the feeling people don't know that there's more to me than just a love for Disney. So I thought that I'd share a little bit about myself to help clear that up! Don't get me wrong, my love for all things Disney is strong but there is so much more to me than that!

I love musical theatre- I'm the type of person that buys Broadway soundtracks and loves belting out the songs. I've bought tickets for musicals without knowing what the shows were about and loved every second of them! Seriously, my love for musical theatre runs deep. Some of my favorite shows include Anything Goes, Rogers and Hammerstein's Cinderella, Legally Blonde: The Musical, 42nd Street, Hello, Dolly! and Beauty and the Beast!

I'm not spontaneous- This is something that I wish that I could change about myself sometimes. I am a planner, 100 percent of the time. I just can't help it. I wish that I could be the type of person that could just go out and do things without a second thought but it's just not me. I have to have a plan. My husband is a pretty spontaneous person so I'm hoping that, one day, some of that will rub off on me!

I'm an avid baker- I LOVE to bake and my husband loves when I do! I consider baking one of my best skills and hobbies. Over time, I think I've gotten pretty good at it. When Kelsey lived next door, I shared a lot of what I baked with her and she told me that I had to stop or she'd gain too much weight!  Now that it's the holiday season, that means that it's time to make one of my favorite things: Christmas cookies! But as much as I love those cookies, my specialties are cheesecake and banana split pie! Whenever my family has a party, they are my most requested dishes!

I'm fluent in Spanish- I absolutely LOVE to speak Spanish. The only thing is, I don't know anyone else that speaks it, so I don't get to practice speaking it very much. But I also love to listen to Spanish music.

I used to major in journalism but now I'm an English major- I've always known that I've wanted to be a writer but let's be honest, it's not a guaranteed career. There's no way that I can ensure that I'll be a guaranteed success as a novelist. So when I first got to college, I thought that I'd major in journalism, that way I could write, have a career and write novels on the side. But I quickly realized that it wasn't the field for me. So I decided to get an English degree instead. For now, I'm a nanny that writes novels on the side! So far, I'm loving every second of it!

I hope that this post has given you a little more insight into who I am as a person! I also hope that whatever holiday you're celebrating this month is a good one!

-Chelsea

Appreciation

Life moves so fast that sometimes people forget to sit back, relax and appreciate what's in front of them. Sometimes we get so caught up in our hectic everyday routines that we forget the big picture or don't express our gratitude enough. I try to live my life with positivity and kindness each and every day. I also try to see the good in every situation and appreciate everything I have. Admittedly, there are some things in life that I want that I haven't gotten yet; however, that just makes me appreciate what I do have even more.

I think that everyone should acknowledge what they're grateful to have, so I went ahead and made a list of some of the things in my life that I appreciate. (These are in no particular order.)

• My family
• My husband
• My health
• My dog

• A roof over my head
• Food on my table
• College education
• Clothes on my back
• A bed
• My friends
• My job
• Insurance

• Technology
• Books/Reading
• Writing
• My past experiences/heartbreak
• Traveling
• Memories of loved ones
• Photographs
• Disney

I really do try to make the most out of every day and appreciate every single thing that life has to offer. I hope you all do too.

-Chelsea

Mother-Daughter Friendship

My mom and I have always been close and she's always been one of my best friends. But once I became an adult and moved out, I realized how true that was. When I need advice or something great has happened in my life, she's the person that I want to call. She's the person that I have the most fun with and she understands me completely. We've always had a strong connection because we're so similar and I'm proud to say that she's a part of me. Now that I'm older and I'm going through major transitional periods of my life, she's able to help guide me and help me in new ways, which all help me grow into a better, more mature person. I'm so thankful that not only is she my mother, but that she's my best friend, too.

I love you, Mom. Thanks for always being there for me.

-Chelsea

Kentucky

Kelsey moved to Kentucky a few months ago and I've been missing her like crazy! So when she invited Kris and I to come down for the 4th of July, I was ecstatic! I had never been to Kentucky, so I was excited to see her and a part of America that I had yet to explore! We had an amazing time and I'm so glad that we made the trip!

 

 

-Chelsea

Dad, If Only You Could Know

Moving far away from home is extremely hard, especially because I'm separated from my family. It breaks my heart that I can't just get into my car and drive to see my family whenever I want. But despite the large distance between us, we are still very close, especially me and my dad. 

I was always a daddy's girl. I wanted to be just like him. I admired him so much and I felt so lucky to be his daughter. Twenty years later, those feelings haven't changed. My father is loving, generous, fun, spontaneous, passionate, encouraging and supportive. He has done so much for others and has affected the lives of so many people but he'll never know just how much he's done for me. 

He taught me everything, from throwing a perfect spiral to how to stand up for myself. One of the most important lessons that I learned from him was what to expect from my husband. I grew up watching how my father treated my mother, with love and respect, and I knew not to accept anything less for myself. He helped me through all of my problems growing up and still helps me out now. My sister and I are, and have always been, his number one priorities in life. And I'm very grateful for that. 

It's so hard to try to describe an indescribable relationship or an indescribable person. There are no words that can truly convey just how much I love and appreciate everything my dad has done for me and everything he's given me over these last 22 years. 

Daddy, I would love to tell you everything that's in my heart but words don't seem like enough. I just hope that I can grow up to be like you and make you proud. I hope that my future kids love me half as much as I love you because then I'll know that I've done it right. 

Whenever I think about you and I start to miss you, I play this song and it makes me smile. It blends together 2 of my favorite things, thoughts about my daddy and Disney. 

King Triton (to Ariel):

"If only you could stay

And never say goodbye

If only I could time stop

Believe me, I would try

But fathers have to learn 

Their daughters have to grow

And if you truly love them

You must let them go

And oh, I love you so

If only you could know"

-The Little Mermaid

I love you, Daddy! Happy Daddy's Day!

-Chelsea