If you know me you probably know I have anxiety issues. I’m easily overwhelmed and stressed out probably over half of the time. And believe it or not, I’m a lot better at controlling it these days. A few years ago it was bad, I was at a weird time in my life and would often time have the hardest time going to sleep because I would run over things in my head nonstop. It continued to affect me physically, I was tired all the time and developed a really unattractive eye twitch. I started a nightly exercise where I would write down everything I was thankful for right before bed. So when I closed my eyes at night the images running through my mind were happy ones that were much better at convincing me to sleep. This lists varied in content, usually starting with my family but sometimes roaming to the yummy sandwich I had for lunch or the joke I was still smirking over from three weeks ago. These lists just made me realize life wasn’t so stressful because more than likely I could always write down more things that I loved than I hated. So today I will share a few of the things I love. 

Spring trees. I love love love those pink and white blossoms brightening the streets.

Dance parties. Especially when they involve a 17 month old.

My nephew’s contagious laugh.

When Pandora plays all the songs I love in a row. 

A rainy day off, so I don’t feel guilty about spending the entire day in bed.

Dressing up.

Thursday phone calls with my Dad.

Chocolate milkshakes.

Funny face pictures.

Driving with the windows down.

Sleeping in.

Strawberries.

Text messages.

Modern technology for giving my the ability to have face to face conversations with people who are miles away.

Cheesy movies.

Spending time with the fam. Especially when all we do is lay on the couch and watch movies.

And one thing I really love is my job, which is being a nanny. Day to day hilarious things happen to me and are said to me. And I think that it’s only fair I share them… 

“You have poop green eyes.” Isaac, the 8 year old I watch. How flattering?

Kathryn was snacking on some Edamame for lunch, she’s 17 months old so her verbal skills are not stellar at this point but she has caught on to quite a bit. She looks down at her Edamame, points to it, and says “booger”. Then proceeds to eat it. Delicious.

I used to watch Sophie and Riley everyday until they were just over 1, but now I watch them from time to time when I’m in Lexington. Last weekend I hung out with them for a little while and we started going through some books. We were reading a alphabet book and the pages had different themes. We got to a page that was themed “Junk Food”. Riley’s eyes got really big, he put his hands down on the page and yelled “I WANT TO EAT EVERYTHING ON THIS PAGE!” then pretended to eat it all. I could not stop laughing, mostly because I thought the exact same thing when I saw the page.

As you may have noticed this Easter season has me feeling pretty blessed. I am living a beautiful rewarding life that I in no way deserve to live. And am incredibly thankful for all I’ve been given. And even more thankful for the sacrifice that gave it to me. Have a Happy Easter, my friends. Love.

Well, well. As I was writing those two words I chipped a tooth. I don’t think that’s a good sign for this post. Any who. I have successfully crossed of number 61!

#61. Go on a cruise

Really pumped I had a chance to do this one! The trip was a gift from my mother for my 21st birthday, and she joined me on it. It was a week long and we sailed to Jamaica and Grand Caymans! We accomplished a lot in the days we were there and I was able to squeeze in a few naps here and there, which was really exciting for me. I hope to go on a few more cruises in my lifetime! I was able to kind of cross off another list item while I was gone. #19 Swim with dolphins. But this one will remain on the list for now because I didn’t actually SWIM with the dolphin. I also held a couple sting rays, which isn’t on the list and maybe should have been. But oh well, did it anyway. So, all in all, great trip!

Next up will be the hot air balloon ride, COME ON SPRING! 

So other wise life is good. Christmas and New Years came and went leaving me feeling very blessed and very excited for the future. 2011 has been a little busy but really fun so far. I’m excited to see where the year takes me! My nephew turned 1 in January and ate a lot of cake.

He’s cute.

And with that I will say goodbye. I need to go find a dentist. Love.

I honestly can’t believe a new year is starting in merely weeks. I feel like I just got used to writing 2010 on my checks and deposit slips. This will take me months to get used to. 

2010 has been a great year! So many things have changed. My wonderful nephew was born right at the beginning of the year and my life is definitely so much better with him in it. I moved to a new city, which was a pretty huge step for me and is still quite an adjustment but a very positive one. And in 2010 my list was born. Which to most probably seems it has been neglected, but don’t be fooled readers. The list is alive and well. In one month I will be crossing off #61 Go on a Cruise. Try not to be jealous that while you are sitting in your house dodging wintery mixes and ice covered roads I will be laying on a ship in route to Jamaica, unless of course you live in a state that doesn’t have wintery mixes and in that case just don’t be jealous that I will be doing nothing for an entire week. Even though this item is far down on the list it is definitely one of my most anticipated, because I am naturally lazy and nothing sounds better to me than laying on a ship doing nothing as it transports me to various exotic locations. There is another list item that has been lingering over my head for months now. That would be #8 Go on a Hot Air Balloon ride, which was one that I put on there but didn’t really think it would happen as effortlessly as it did. But for my 21st birthday I was given a certificate that granted myself and a friend a ride on a hot air balloon ride, but sadly the weather has yet to comply with this item. But it is definitely coming soon! 

So other than that life is pretty swell. Christmas is next week, which completely blows my mind, I have way too much to accomplish between now and then. And so I have clearly decided to blog instead of getting any of that stuff done. It had been months and I felt I owed dear tumblr an update, so I hope this will suffice. Merry Christmas friends.

Coming soon… #8.

…and to you.

First we stopped in the see Abe. He was well.

Then Kathryn decided to chill on the grass for a bit. Mainly trying to pick it.

The sun was very bright.

So I insisted she wear a hat AND sunscreen.

She was thrilled.

But I brought her sheepy! And she loves him.

She especially loves to chew on his face.

I insisted on a picture with Abe.

She wanted to look at him.

But I insisted.

AND THEN WE GOT PANERA!

She loves chicken noodle soup. Especially when she can splash it it…

See?

But it’s okay…

…she’ll still eat it.

IT’S DELICIOUS! “GUESS WHAT MISS CHELSEA?!”

“I GOT FOOD IN MY HAIR!” The adventure ended with a bath. Good day : )

Working on #47.

My nephew rules.

Well well, it has been a long time. I’m really horrible at keeping up with blogs, that’s probably why I have had so many. Welp, there is not much to say about the last couple months. Life is good. It is summer, which I love. Things are changing, which I also love. I have been very aware of how blessed I am lately, and that has made me even more aware of how rarely I share those blessings, working on that. I have sadly pushed my list aside, but I am going to pull it back out. I have been working on getting healthy so I bought an elliptical machine for my tiny apartment, I’m sure my neighbors below me love it, I know I do. Although buddy does not, he chooses to sit in my fireplace while I’m on it. It’s not a working fireplace so he doesn’t run the risk of getting burnt, I guess it is summer so even if it was a working fireplace I probably wouldn’t have a fire going. You know. Anyway. This month is going to be crazy, I’ll be back and forth to lexington a lot to carry out my maid of honor duties, which is totally worth it. I’m so pumped for Cara and Mike’s wedding to get here! And today is 21 days till my 21st birthday, you know what that means…. birthday cake remix from coldstone! It also means I have to get a new drivers license, bleh I hate that. Speaking of driving, the people of Louisville are really bad at it. I mean really bad. I have found another cool MTV show called “If you really knew me”. You should check it out, I wish we had a challenge day when I was in school. This post is crazy all over the place, but that is how I am most of the time. I think the next thing on my list I should work on will be #47, drink a cup of coffee and enjoy it. That’s something that is not expensive and I could probably do on my own. But I really hate coffee. I could use the caffeine boost, I probably don’t need it. And Ali should help me out with #37 soon. If anyone wants to join in on the list fun, let me know. I’ll help with yours! Well. That is all I have for now. Have a nice day.