When the ice melts.

I hate writing about current events. It's just like begging to stir up a shitstorm. I deleted this post twice before actually publishing it. But after scoffing at this all week, I felt a need to truly voice my side of it.

My beef with this ice bucket challenge?

What sort of society do we live in that we have to dare our friends to dump icy, cold water on themselves to get them to care about a cause? 

Is that really what we've become?

Believe me, the marketing/grass roots/word of mouth aspect of all of this is awe-inspiring from an advertising/PR point of view. I could sing the praises of whoever started all of this (despite mixed reviews of how it actually originated) I have never once bashed the organization or the fact that they are receiving donations. It's awesome that they have witnessed such a boost in awareness.

What I'm disappointed in is that so many people are only doing it because its "cool".  Do you know what isn't nearly as buzzworthy? Sitting at a nursing home for a few hours keeping the residents company. Taking time out of your holiday season to go slop turkey and noodles on a Styrofoam plate for the line of homeless folks standing before you. Throwing your spare change in the red bucket at Christmas. Do you know what makes you feel just as good inside?

My beef isn't with the cause, it's with the motive of the participants. Do you, as a human, as an American, really need guaranteed pats on the back to do good onto others? That mindset is disgusting, you guys.

I have always made a point to donate my time or money to a handful of selected charities every year. Guess what? No one in particular asked me to, and no one sings my praise when I do. I could be lead astray, but I am fairly certain that doesn't decrease the value in what I do. I do it because I feel personally vetted to the individual causes. In one way or another, I have been drawn to each of the respective organizations, and I want to pledge to them. Not because someone dares me to.

I hope that by dumping ice water on your head you do truly realize the meaning behind it, and you do truly want to help cure this disease. I hope that this opens the eyes of many to what a little fun and a little donation of time can lead to. I hope that ALS research advances leaps and bounds by this, but I also hope that people use it as a jumping point to find other things they are passionate about, and find ways to help.

If you pledged anything this year, ice or not. I thank you. Thanks for putting good juju into the world. We need more of that. I genuinely hope that we aren't approaching a time where they only way you can get someone to care about a cause is to turn it into a media circus.

Dear 17 year old Chels

Dear 17 year old Chelsea, 

You're about to start college. That's a little weird, eh? You were a little nervous to venture too far from the nest, and opposed to becoming a Cardinal, so you tossed aside that Ball State acceptance letter and settled on Herron School of Art + Design here in Indy. 

Nervous doesn't even begin to cut it. Things will get easier. You're going to love going to art school. It's going to open your eyes to so many new opportunities and people you never got to experience in suburbia high school.

That guy you're crushing on... hate to break it to you, but it doesn't end up well. He'll make you a lot of promises but ultimately decide that fidelity isn't his style. It's ok. He's not that cool after all, I promise. And when you fast forward 6 or 7 years he gets a little chubby and a lot less cute. So maybe it does end up well. You realize dating the party boy isn't exactly the path to a lifetime of wedded bliss. 

Your closest girlfriends, most of them went away to school. They're making new friends just like you are. Instead of seeing them 4 nights a week and having sleepovers every weekend you're going to start seeing them less and less. They won't come home every weekend. And you won't go visit them as often. It sucks, and your feelings will get a little hurt that they have these new lives. Don't let it get to you too much.. spoiler alert: you guys will rekindle in a few years, and have even more fun. 

Since your best friends are all spread out, you'll start spending more time with your family. Embrace it. This becomes a beautiful thing, and a lot of people aren't that lucky. I know, I know... going to dinner with your parents on a Friday night isn't THAT cool. On the plus side, you're going to save a LOT of money while they still buy your food. That padded bank account will come in handy later, promise. 

Oh, and Chels... stop Facebook stalking that ex from senior year. Those girls he parties with, also end up fat and don't get too far in life. I'll send you another spoiler alert, he ends up in rehab (girl, you really need to rethink these guys you choose to date). On the plus side, you guys become pretty good friends when he needs someone to lean on. He teaches you how to distinguish between love-love and friend-love. Thanks to him, you learn to not hold grudges, you learn that not everyone is meant to stay in your life, and that that is perfectly fine. 

All those hobbies that weren't cool to have in high school... embrace them now. Sewing and making scrapbooks may seem lame, but I promise in a few years when all your friends are hanging out on your couch you guys are going to laugh it up while flipping through the pages of your Spring Break albums, curled up under the quilts you made. People are going to start paying you to make them things too... again, with the padded bank account. Embrace it sista, you've got talent!

That bank account is about to come in handy... you're realizing how much you love to travel, and now without such a strict high school schedule you've got more free time to do it. Embrace that you've got friends living out west, go visit. A lot. Hit up as many beaches as you can in Mexico and the Caribbean. They're cheap to fly there now, they're going to get a lot more expensive the older you get, ugh.  Travel every chance you get! You're going to love it!

Oh, and for the love of god.... put the macbook down for a bit. I get that you have a lot of design work to do for your classes, but ease up a bit. I promise you'll be ok. You figure it out later in college that you don't NEED to get A's & B's, you're going to land an internship thanks to who you know, not what you know. Silly as it sounds, life is a little backwards sometimes.

Have some fun, little Chels, I'm not going to tell you these are the best years of your life, because you seem to do a lot better once your twenties roll around, but you do have a pretty great college'hood. Cheers little lady, and hold on.... you're in for a wild ride!

Traveling on the cheap: Let someone else pay your way!

I'm back with another soapbox on how to travel on the cheap! 

On of the most frequent comments I receive is "how do you afford to go on so many trips?!"

I've got a few different ways to share, but in this post I'm telling you to let someone else pay the tab.

That's right... why pay for your own trips when someone else will!?

I talked briefly about how I used to put all my living expenses on my TJMaxx Mastercard, simply because it racked up points towards gift certificates to there, and I'd turn around and pay the card off out of my bank account every month.

Shortly after returning from Australia and realizing how much more of the world I still needed (not wanted, NEEDED) to see, I realized there were better ways to accumulate "rewards" for these daily things I'll always be buying regardless.

Nowadays my gas, my groceries, my shopping habits, all go towards funding travel.

After a few weeks of reading up on the various 'rewards' credit cards, I decided that the Barclay Arrival+ was the best option for me.

I NEVER use my debit card. But I am also VERY aware of any money I spend and any money I earn, I am not sure I would recommend this if you are one of those people who never has any clue how much is in their bank account or are constantly overdrawing. I would imagine you could end up in deep credit card debt pretty quickly.

So, why did I choose the Arrival Plus? They go on a 'pay yourself back' system, versus some of the other cards I looked into where you have to book your travel THROUGH them (Chase Sapphire Preferred, Capital One Quiksilver, etc, etc.) I choose this based on my own travel preferences. I cannot preach enough how important it is to research the cards first (a simple Google search for travel reward credit cards will yield a ton of breakdowns). I can log into my account and am easily given the option to pay myself back for any travel related expense.

There was a 40,000 pt bonus (equivalent to $400)  if I put $3000 on my card within the first 90 days.  So after receiving my card in March, I had recently racked up enough points to "pay myself back" for roughly $500 worth of airline flights I had booked. By doing nothing but going about my daily life, with my regular spending habits.

Granted, there is an $89 yearly fee on my card. If you consider the perks, it weighs itself out in my opinion. $500 worth of free airfare is the equivalent of 5 years of paying the annual fee.

There are a TON of options. However, a LOT of rewards cards carry obnoxiously high % rates. I am very meticulous about paying off any balance I carry religiously, but apparently I'm a freak of nature, so... just a heads up HA!

If you always fly Southwest, look into the Southwest card (I think they're offering 2 RT flights if you sign up and spend x amount in the first few months... not a bad deal!). Same with Delta, or any other airline. If you are loyal to a certain hotel chain, they probably offer a credit card specifically catering to their perks. Just be responsibly and make sure you know what you're getting into, but all in all I think it's a great option to rack up a few travel perks while living your normal life!

(Note: This is not a sponsored post, nor am I affiliated with Barclay or any other credit company, I am simply sharing my own experiences. Credit cards can be a slippery slope though, tread with caution and make sure you're aware of all terms and conditions before signing up!)

To read up on my other Traveling on the Cheap tips, click here!

What happened to love?

 

Do you ever find yourself in conversation with an older gentleman, probably someone's grandpa, and he gets on the topic of his late wife. Do you notice the glimmer he gets in his eye? The smirk when he mentions those quirks shes had, the love they shared, the longing ever since she passed?

Fast-forward to modern day men, and that glimmer is gone. I can't tell you the last time a guy brought up a relationship and he actually seemed happy to be in it. When he didn't call her "crazy" within the first 10 minutes, or complain about the things she does, the things she says.

What happened? Where did the love go? When did we, as a generation, lose that sense of pride and commitment to a relationship, to our 'partner'?

It's refreshing to hear a guy bragging on his girl, instead of complaining about her. It's adorable to watch a fellas eyes light up when his girl walks into a room, as opposed to hearing him groan and make some one-off comment. It's admirable when it's clear a man can't get enough of her, and has eyes for no one else, instead of trying to flirt with any other woman around.

This isn't some feminist rant about holding doors or paying for the tab. It's just a mind dump where I confess that it makes me sad. It makes me sad that all these guys date these great girls and act like they could care less if they were even around.

Maybe that's part of the reason I continue to chose to be single. I don't want to juts be in a relationship because it's expected. I want to be in one because I can't get enough of someone, and they can't get enough of me. I want to be in one where we make each other awesome, and happy, and elated and maybe this is just me dreaming un-achievable dreams, but I find that hard to believe when I've met so many grandpa's and grandma's who still have that glimmer in their eye.

Story of a boy.

Boy meets girl.

Boy gives girl his number, and invites her to hang out.

Girl already has plans.

LinkedIn tells girl that boy checked out her profile.

Girl texts boy, boy doesn't reply.

A week later, boy asks girl to lunch.

Lunch is fun! Boy and girl laugh a lot!

Boy invites girl to a gathering next week.

Girl texts boy, boy doesn't reply.

And people wonder why girl chooses not to date.

Hey you. You're awesome.

Things that are awesome (in no certain order):

You all. 

This blog has been an open book when it comes to my niece and her battle with cancer. From the day they found it, to surgeries to bald-headed birthdays, to the horrible no good very bad days I'll never forget. It's hard to sit back and watch, feeling absolutely helpless. Maybe that's why I felt so passionate about the organization in my last post.

Having been diagnosed with cancer just months shy of her 2nd bday Liv has had anything but a normal childhood, and my brother & sis-in-law have had anything near a normal 'parenthood'. Give Kids the World truly took care of EVERYTHING on Liv's wish trip to ensure the only thing on any of their minds was how much fun they were having. From airport transfers, to Olivia's medical needs, to theme park passes, to baby sister Emily's diapers, from ice cream for breakfast & Disney princesses reading her bedtime stories... Literally nothing was left out. No doubt in my mind it was one of her first, and probably best, memories of a "normal childhood"

Monday evening, when I asked Olivia about riding roller coasters, she just looked up at me and matter-of-factly said 'Don't be scared Chelsea'. Easy for you to say, kiddo. Easy for you to say. We've all been so scared for every doctor visit, every scan, every phone call. You're the brave one, here!

Our 'Coasting for Kids' team, Teamtastics (Liv named us) has raised over $2000 for Give Kids the World in just a few days. I've had emails come in saying donations were made from people I've never even crossed paths with in real life, only communicating with via twitter. The power of social media is amazing. It inspires me that you all have grown to love and cheer for Olivia just as much as we do. It's SO amazing! 

It warms my heart beyond belief how many of you have donated your hard earned money to help other kids with life-threatening illnesses and their families have this same treatment. I can only imagine how many smiles we're helping to spread! I thank each and every one of you, and can't wait to ride those coasters Sunday in honor of every brave little kiddo who is currently fighting or has fought this battle

I get giddy thinking about how many smiles these donations are going to spread. These kiddos and their families deserve nothing less!

We're still able to continue accepting donations for a few more days, even if you don't want to donate please PLEASE check out Give Kids the World and what they do, it's awe-inspiring.

http://support.gktw.org/site/TR/CoastingForKids/General?px=1228361&pg=personal&fr_id=1236

So thank you, again

An ode to couples that don't suck.

If you want me to be completely honest here, some couples suck.

Maybe that's harsh, but it's the truth. There are some couples who, when you log a few hours with them, they just absolutely suck the life out of you. Whether it's because they're constantly bickering, or wayyy too affectionate, or only into each other, whatever. They just suck. And when you finally wrangle free of their grasp it's like the heavens open up and you're all THANKTHELUCKYSTARSIMSINGLESTILL.

Where am I going with this? Well a few weeks ago a small group of us began planning a trip down to Louisville. Specifically for bridesmaid dress shopping, less specifically for Thunder Over Louisville and shenanigans. 

When I realized this 'small group' would consist of two engaged couples, myself, and one of my best girlfriends, I was slightly hesitant. Was I signing myself up for a weekend of pre-wedded-bliss torture? 

Fast forward (rewind then fast forward?) through this past weekend, I remember making it a point to tell them on the ride home how glad I was that they didn't suck as a couple.

We chatted, we shopped, we ate, we drank, we ooh'ed and ahh'ed over airplanes and fireworks, we laughed until our abs burned and tears were streaming down our face, and then we ate and drank some more.

Truth be told, there was more than one occasion where watching them together warmed my icy heart up a little. Maybe ALL relationships aren't absolutely dreadful. Maybe.

In closing, congrats (and thank you) on not sucking, Courtney & Legends, and Amelia & Andy. I want to be you one day when I grow up.

Five.

I realized this morning that I started this blog five years ago.

Five. 

If I was one of those people who made 5-year plans I could probably kick back and laugh at how not on-track my life is now compared to what I envisioned back then.

But I'm not, so I'll spare you that shred of boring. I would write about graduating college, projects I started, stuff I baked, trips I took. No one commented except my best friend, Jenn.

No one knew about my blog, because it seemed weird. Bloggers are weird, right? Geeky little chicks that hang out in the corner of the library on their Macbooks, documenting the world around them.

Fast forward five years, people recognize me in public because of my social media "presence". I use that term loosely, because let's face it - I'm totally 'little fish', but it's still so funny to me.

The other weekend, I was at my nieces birthday party and a friend of my brothers approached me and started talking to me about how funny the stuff I tweeted was. I'll run into people who will call me "Miss Chelsea", or friends will bring up stuff amidst conversation that I blogged about months ago.

There's been a whole lotta comedy, a fair share of serious talk here, and of course a decent dose of drama.

There's been new loves, new houses, graduations, job offers, escapades and adventures, babies, and break-ups.

I've made a handful of awesome friends from this little corner of the internet. I can keep my family and friends I don't see nearly enough up to date on my shenanigans. I can entertain randoms, and probably a stalker here and there.

I rarely call myself a "blogger" because I just don't feel like I fit that bill, but I am glad I've been documenting and sharing this little life of mine for the past half of a decade. It's been a fun ride, kiddos.

I'm eager to see what kind of stories I get to share in the next fiver!


 

Traveling on the cheap: The flights.

I get asked nearly daily about finding/booking trips.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I don't have access to some top secret travel booking cult, or anything like that. What I do have is a lot of time invested into what I like to call "the hunt".

Now, there are two types of 'deal hunting' I've mastered. The wanderer and the determined.

If you're like me most of the time; have minimal obligations, a boatload of Paid Time Off, and an aching wanderlust... here's my best advice:

Let someone else do the hard work for you!
As I've mentioned before on the blog, I have a separate GMail account just for shopping and email blasts (it's always fun to watch the doubt in sales associates' eyes when you tell them Chelsea Likes To Shop at GMail is your address of choice). This is optional, but it's my own sense of sanity having things organized and separate.

My 'fun' email account regularly looks like this:

You know how I got the wild idea that I wanted should go to Dublin? Hostelworld.

There are a TON of sites that will send you email blasts with a list of great deals, notifications on locations you've requested, cheap flights from your home airport, whatever you want I can almost guarantee there is a site for it.

Some of my favorites:
Airfare Watch Dog, CheapAir, OneTravel, Kayak.

I get emails from them saying "Hey you can fly from Indy to Las Vegas for $250rt in March" and I go 'oh, perfect, let's go visit Vegas!'

Which brings me to the second line of defense: 
IPhone Apps.

I especially enjoy Kayak. I have the app on my phone and have set up notifications for places I'd like to visit, and it tells me when prices drop:

Since I have no specific time I want to travel, and no specific destination I need to go, it's fun to see where I can get on the cheap.

Another app I love is SkyScanner (which I've praised before on the blog, so I won't repeat myself)

Use flexibility to your advantage!
(This applies to everyone, even if you NEED to be somewhere on specific days, for a wedding or work trip, or Spring Break, or whatever)
Don't always try to do Saturday to Saturday weeks, or Thursday to Sunday long weekends... you're going to pay more! Do a Friday night to a Monday night, or a Tuesday to Tuesday trip. Sure it might not always be ideal. But having more cash in my pocket is ALWAYS ideal in my mind!

I've noticed it's over $200 cheaper to fly to Dublin in the middle of the week, rather than weekends.

I use both SkyScanner and Kayak to peruse whole months for the lowest prices. Southwest has the Calendar, almost every airline has a "flexible dates" option that will let you browse +/- 3 days from the dates you input.

Check frequently. 
Airfare seems to change ALL THE TIME. Sure, there are tons of rumors about booking at 2pm on Tuesdays, or 7 weeks out, or clearing your internet cache before searching, etc, etc.

I haven't really found ANY of these to be true.

I never ever ever book airfare when I first search. I search multiple sites.  I search different combinations of days. I search surrounding airports (mostly for cities like New York, I wouldnt recommend flying into like San Francisco if you're visiting a cousin in San Diego or something).

Two words: Hacker Fares
One way trips are becoming more prevalent. Termed 'hacker fares' in the airline industry, don't feel obligated to fly round-trip with a specific airline. Sometimes a different airline just offers a return flight more accommodating to your schedule, sometimes the price is just WAY better. Unfortunately, almost every airline except southwest seems to be a tad more expensive on one-way fares, but that doesn't mean you still can't score a great deal, or a better flight. I've bailed on round-trips that had long layovers, or wacky connections, and paid nearly the same cost to book two one-ways with reasonable times and routes.

Be creative.
I'm in the process of planning a trip to Thailand. You know which airport I'm looking to fly out of? Anything but Indianapolis pretty much.
Why?
Because airlines have affiliates. No airline flies direct from Indy to Bangkok. So if I flight search, it's guaranteed I'll have a connecting flight (typically JFK, ORD, LAX, etc). If American Airlines flies me to JFK than booking it in one fell swoop will put me on an American (or one of their affiliate airlines) flight to Bangkok. And that isn't always the cheapest option. Same thing with my hairbrained idea to go to Dublin.

When booking our Australia airfare, we found that flying out of LAX was always the cheapest route to Sydney (it was around $1300 at the time). If I looked at IND>SYD it would connect me in LAX, but it would be like $1800. And I knew I could find flights for MUCH cheaper than $500rt to LAX. So we booked our LAX>SYD airfare with Qantas, and I found $150 one-way's on another airline a few months later. Saving myself a few hundred dollars.  (If you are doing this, make sure to give yourself plenty of time between flights to ensure you can accommodate customs, minor delays, etc, without stressing!)

When you finally decide to book, the choice is yours. Book directly through the airline, or book through the third-party site (Kayak, Travelocity, wherever). I generally go directly with the airline, I've had to change and cancel flights before, and it seems a tad easier when dealing directly with the airline instead of a third party. But that's just my own two cents.

Good luck, and happy travels! I'd love to hear any other tips/insight you've got! 

(I figured I should mention that I am not affiliated/sponsored by any of the aforementioned companies, I simply love their services! )


To read up on my other Traveling on the Cheap tips, click here!

#100happydays

I have seen the hashtag #100happydays bouncing around Instagram for a while now, and finally decided to find out what it was all about this morning.

What I stumbled upon was an awesome movement.

We live in times when super-busy schedules have become something to boast about. While the speed of life increases, there is less and less time to enjoy the moment that you are in. The ability to appreciate the moment, the environment and yourself in it, isthe base for the bridge towards long term happiness of any human being.

71% of people tried to complete this challenge, but failed quoting lack of time as the main reason.These people simpy did not have time to be happy. Do you? 

Starting today, I'm tackling this challenge.  On instagram, that is. Care to join me? I've decided to create my own hashtag so that I can look back solely on my photos. Today begins #HMCHappyHundred , I am already anticipating May 24th so I can look back on 100 days of happy!

 

Love Languages.

I remember hearing about the 5 Languages of Love book a while back, and kind of laughed at the idea. But the more I thought about it the more I agreed, and while I haven't read the whole book I do agree with the excerpts I've read.

Just as everyone learns differently, everyone loves differently.

With Valentine's Day looming around the corner, I found myself in a conversation this morning regarding how I felt most 'loved' and immediately googled to find the quiz and learn my "love language".

If I'm being completely honest - when my results popped up, I felt like an asshole. A materialistic jerk.

But the more I thought about what they said, the more I realized it was true. And the more I realized that's how I naturally 'show' my love for others.

I absolutely adore surprises. When someone takes the time to plan something, or pick something up for me 'just because' I get SO happy.

And I find myself doing it a lot for others, when I'm in a relationship. I LOVE giving gifts, especially ones that are completely at random and just scream the other persons name. Every birthday and Christmas I struggle because I am SO wrapped up in finding the PERFECT gift.

Second place for my 'love languages' was tied between Words of Affirmation and Quality Time, which I can fully agree with. This was really interesting to me, because it pointed out some things that I had realized before. And also reminded me that maybe not everyone feels loved because I surprise them with a gift the way I do (ha!)

(PS I have no affiliation, with this site, the author, the book, etc. I just found it interesting. The quiz can be found here - I'd love to hear what your love language is, and if you agree!)

 

A quirk... or just a really weird pastime.

I really don't know how it started... but somewhere along the way I developed a weird obsession with vacation planning. Not the whole nitty gritty, day planner kind of thing, scheduling has never really been my thing... but hunting for awesome deals on airfare, etc.

I'm always given the responsibility of scouting out our yearly family vacation to the islands, and last years Australia trip really flexed my muscles. 2014's Thailand trek is proving to be the same. I find a lot of my free time my mind begins to wander, and my browser tabs get filled with various airline booking pages and travel sites. Ask any of my friends, I guarantee they've all received random texts asking if they want to go to Norway in a month, or South Africa next week.

Imagine my excitement last week when I stumbled upon airfare to the South Pacific for nearly half of what it generally is. HALF. Gorgeous, gorgeous islands for so very cheap.

And then imagine my excitement dropping when I realized it was two weeks away, and apparently most people A) can't take time off that spur-of-the-moment and B) don't have a couple hundred dollars to drop at random to hop off to a random island with me.

So if you need me, I'll be over here in the -4degree Indiana weather, pouting, and contemplating how terrible a 10hour flight and week on a beach would be all alone.

(Side note: Skyscanner is handsdown the BEST app for trip-planning, IMO - not a sponsored post, just a huge fanatic) 

To my future mister, I promise...

I promise to take an obnoxious amount of photos of us. And of you. And of cute things you do/say. And occasionally I promise to exploit them on the blog, or other various forms of social media. FOR POSTERITY'S SAKE


I promise you anytime you're bummed, I'll be the first one cracking dumb jokes and making silly faces trying to get you to crack a smile.


I promise you that if a laugh isn't what you need, I'll be there to offer the biggest hug, a hand to hold, an ear to listen, and a shoulder to cry on. And then I'll tell you that you owe me a new shirt due to snot stains.


I promise you will never be hungry. My love of cooking is only just beginning, and baking has always been my favorite pastime. I promise I'll occasionally make healthy food too, so we don't become lard-asses.


On that note I promise you'll never be thirsty. I have enough liquor in my house to allow a family of 10 to survive a decade long Prohibition.


I promise I won't whine about the action/drama flicks you pick up from Redbox for date night. It's hard to whine when I fall asleep 20 minutes into any movie.


I promise you will rarely have to see me in the same outfit twice. I can't help that I excel at shopping, I'm willing to bet you won't ever have to wear the same thing twice ever either.


I promise we will never be on time to anything. But you bet your ass you better be ready ahead of time. It's expected that you'll have to wait on me... but you turning the tables is just unacceptable.


I promise the house will never be completely spotless, the laundry will rarely ever be completely put away, and the sink will probably have dishes in it. I think it's important to share chores, I don't want to take any of the joy of a "achieving a clean home" away from you.


I promise I'll be your best partner in crime, egging you on whether it be karaoke, shots, or the Blackjack table. But don't worry... I'll make sure you don't get TOO out of control, and remind you when you're being a dumbass/brokeass/drunkass.


I promise you will never be bored. Whether I'm dragging you to a country concert, hanging on your arm at a sporting event, or snuggling on your shoulder on a long flight. We'll have adventures. I promise if you aren't already broke, we'll make a dent in that together. (Hey, can't take it with you when you go.)


I promise to argue every major world event with you, place all my best conspiracy theories on the table, and explain to you all the Googling I geekily did leading up to those viewpoints. I'll also remind why you're wrong, if/when I'm clearly right.


I promise to spoil you with surprises and gifts. Do onto others as you would like others to do onto you.


I promise to give you headaches, to piss you off, to wear you out, and probably give you no choice but to drive around aimlessly for hours on end to clear your head. I promise we'll make mistakes, together. And we'll learn. I promise there will be times we're so damn sure we hate each other but I promise I will make you break a smile.  I promise we'll get through the tough times, and we'll have the best of good times.  I promise I'll be your best right hand lady, and I promise to never hurt you and love you with all my heart.

I pinky promise.