My No Good, Terrible, Rotten but Incredibly Amazing Year

The title of this is awfully confusing, isn't it?

By the end of this blog post, it'll make sense.

This has been, in some ways (particularly in the health and wellness aspect of my life) the 

<BY FAR> worst year of my life.
But then it gets better. And worse again. And then better.

It's about to get PERSONAL up in here.

Brace yourself.

It started off near the end of last year actually. In around October of 2011.  I began waking up around 3 or 4am with nausea... and vomiting. And did I mention I didn't have my "monthly visitor" in about nine weeks? 

Yep, like you're probably thinking I thought I was preggo.

I began taking tests, which kept turning up negative... Until one day, a faint second line appeared.

So, I went to the doctor for a blood test... And, no baby.  

Good.  {don't get me wrong, I want them eventually, but not yet}

But what the f*ck? I'm still nauseous. I'm still throwing up.

At this point, losing weight (which at the time was needed, thankfully)- but it was obviously being done unhealthily, and at a scary rapid pace.

So over the next several months, I went through a series of tests. 

Gluten allergy? No. And I did try the diet, to see if my body for whatever reason just doesn't handle gluten well, but no dice.  There were more allergy tests (btw, I found out I have a ton of allergies I didn't know about including a small allergy to peanuts and sesame seeds. Go figure. You should get tested too- it's worth it), blood tests, stomach emptying tests, gall bladder function test, and eventually the tests that actually gave us some answers- an endoscopy and a colonoscopy. 

Yep. At the age of 22.

During the endoscopy they found that I have excess bile in my stomach (for no apparent reason, according to my gall bladder function), which causes the nausea- which made sense because bile was all I was ever throwing up. Have you ever thrown up bile? F*cking gross. 

And during the colonoscopy, they removed a precancerous polyp. It's a good thing I didn't wait until I was 40 as suggested- I could have had colon cancer.

Fast forward to a healthy (thanks to medication) me.  At this point, me being sick had caused me to lose 45 pounds, and my job as a preschool teacher. I was on unemployment, trying to make the most out of life. Mainly by discovering Pinterest and trying all the recipes and projects I could get my hands on.

 After what felt like forever, I finally ended up getting a job at a local gym in the child care center (much less stressful than the preschool I was currently working at, which I'll explain at a later date), and as a receptionist at the front desk.

And then came my 23rd birthday, on June 2nd. I was working as many hours as I could (for obvious reasons), so I wanted to keep it low key. It ended up being the best day of my life- the most amazing man I've ever met, asked me to marry him. More on that later ;)

Celebrating our  3 year anniversary on September 3rd of this year.

 Within the next couple months, we had a couple hiccups.  My fiance (Scott) got a DUI- which it looks like will either be dismissed, or brought down to wet and reckless- fingers crossed.  I'll probably talk to you about that later too..  

And within that same month, I cut my right thumb (yes, I'm right handed) so bad that I ended up slicing my tendon and having to get tendon repair surgery and be in a splint for six weeks. 

After my surgery

When that night mare was over- I had some luck.  A friend who opened up a local high end restaurant hired me as a bar back, and I quickly became a bartender.

So for the last several months, I've been playing with infants and children by day and pouring (and drinking, of course) cocktails by night.
It's been glorious! The best of both worlds. I love getting my baby fix, and then getting to shake things up at night- no pun intended. ;)

Just finished my first official bartending shift

 So there you have it- my 'No good, Terrible, Rotten but Incredibly Amazing Year.' 

2013, may you be a little less, let's say... Eventful.  

Other than that BIG day we've been working so hard to play on September 14th, that is. ;)

Just another Manic Monday

I stole this survey from my dear friend Brittany over at brittanygarner.com. The very lady who encouraged me to start this blog :) She's amazing! You should check out her blog and etsy shop.

1. What kind of SOAP is in your bathtub right now?
Coconut body wash, and Axe for Scott. And we always have Irish Spring.

2. Do you have any watermelon in your refrigerator?
Nope.

3. What would you change about your living room?
I'm in the process of changing it right now! Adding shelves and whatnot. But the next big thing is redoing the coffee table and side table.

4. Are the dishes in your dishwasher clean or dirty?
Clean. Need to unload them :/

5. What is in your fridge?
Italian sausage links, bacon, spinach, bell peppers, mushrooms, greek yogurt, ground beef, water, pinot grigio, milk, beer,  condiments, cans of V8, leftovers...

6. White or wheat bread?
Wheat.

7. What is on top of your refrigerator?
Ugh I hate it- right now we have stuff on top of it. Scott's protein powders, some liquor.

8. What color or design is on your shower curtain?
brown, cream and teal stripes.

9. How many plants are in your home?
Three. And more outside, obviously.

10. Is your bed made right now?
Nope. Don't judge.

11. Comet or Soft Scrub?
I use both, but I guess I prefer Soft Scrub.

12. Is your closet organized?
Scott just helped me do it recently! (I've been working 60 hr work weeks lately, and I came home to him working on it one day. Keeper.)
Now I'm just working on getting rid of things I need to.

13. Can you describe your flashlight?
We have one somewhere... Yellow?

14. Do you drink out of glass or plastic most of the time at home?
Glass.

15. Do you have iced tea made in a pitcher right now?
No, but now I want it.

16. If you have a garage, is it cluttered?
Sadly, we live in an apartment without one :(

17. Curtains or blinds?
Curtains. Need new ones. Next project.

18. How many pillows do you sleep with?
One.

19. Do you sleep with any lights on at night?
Sometimes I fall asleep while we're watching T.V. or hanging out in the living room. But when we go to bed I need complete darkness.

20. How often do you vacuum?
...embarrassing. <--- had to keep that one Britt, haha

21. Standard toothbrush or electric?
Standard.

22. What color is your toothbrush?
White and pink I think.

23. Do you have a welcome mat on your front porch?
Yes. Simple, Ikea.

24. What is in your oven right now?
Just pulled pizza from Papa Murph out of it :)

25. Is there anything under your bed?
A suitcase with craft supplies.

26. Chore you hate doing the most?
Cleaning the bathroom, folding/hanging laundry, dishes. I'm not useless though, I swear!

27. What retro items are in your home?
Decorations in the kitchen, salt and pepper shakers... My dresser, vanity and side tables.

28. Do you have a separate room that you use as an office?
Yes, and it doubles as a spare room/laundry room.

29. How many mirrors are in your home?
One in the bathroom, one in the living room, my vanity mirror, and one Scott made when he took wood shop in high school .

30. Do you have any hidden emergency money around your home?
Well, we have coins rolled up. lol

31. What color are your walls?
GROSS apartment rental white. Depressing. <---- Again, same answer.

32. Do you keep any kind of protection weapons in your home?
I keep a hammer in my side table drawer next to my bed. lol. Scott has a variety of things including a machete- and probably a lot of stuff I don't know about.

33. What does your home smell like right now?
Probably pizza.

34. Favorite candle scent?
I love vanilla. I also love anything orange-y scented. I'm not picky.

35. What kind of pickles (if any) are in your refrigerator right now?
Not sure. Normally spears and sliced (is that what you would call that?)

36. What color is your favorite Bible?
I only have a bible because an old boyfriends' family bought it for me. It's purple and green.

37. Ever been on your roof?
Not this one.

38. Do you own a stereo?
We use the surround sound Scott set up. I'm super technically illiterate.

39. How many TVs do you have?
Two. But the one in the bedroom isn't working at the moment.

40. How many house phones?
Zero.

41. Do you have a housekeeper?
I wish!

42. What style do you decorate in?
Eclectic/vintage-y. We love going thrift store shopping and finding one of a kind things we wouldn't be able to find anywhere else.

43. Do you like solid colors in furniture or prints?
Solid. Printed pillows and such.

44. Is there a smoke detector in your home?
Yeppers.

45. In case of fire, what are the items in your house which you’d grab if you only could make one quick trip?
Dogs, turtle (sorry fish), pictures, some important stuff at my desk, but I doubt I'd remember. In reality I'd probably just walk around in a circle in a panic, trying to figure out what to do- much like I did when I sliced my thumb really bad this July.

Oh heeyy

My life... in a goddamn nutshell.

Chelsey Gwyne Hicks.
Named after my nana, Gwyne.
Named after her mother Gwyndolyn.

Born on June 2nd, 1989 in Chico, CA. Yes, that makes me 23 years young.

I grew up in a small town called Corning in Northern, CA. It has about 8,000 people I believe.
I played sports, was involved in school, went to the rallies & football games and all of that jazz.

After high school I moved to Chico, CA and I've lived here for the last five years- working and going to school off and on.  In 2009, I became certified in Human Services through Butte College and I continued to take child development classes in order to become a preschool teacher- which I did in 2010.

In September of 2008 a friend introduced me to Scott Whittingham, the amazing man that I am going to marry.  We started dating in September of 2009, and will tie the knot in less than a year on September 14th, 2013. I'm sure you'll be hearing a LOT about our planning, especially as it gets closer.

This last year has been a crazy one. I spent the first half of it sick, and visiting doctors getting tests and procedures done to figure out why. During this, I ended up going on unemployment for a while, as I was too sick to work. When I started getting better, I got hired at a local gym as a front desk receptionist and in the child care center.  About a month later, Scott asked me to marry him. (Story to come). A month or two after that, I injured myself and had to get surgery on my right thumb. And then, a couple months ago I got a second job at a restaurant as a bar back, and have since began bartending.

I'm a total wino, foodie, movie buff and celebrity gossip junkie.  I enjoy going on bike rides, flowers, doing crafts around the house, cooking, and spending time with my fiance and our fur-children (our two dogs, Ajax and Pheobe).

Welcome to this blog where I will rant about my life of wedding planning, taking care of babies by day and pouring drinks by night.

Behind the name

My first name is Chelsey.

Whitty comes from Whittingham which is my soon-to-be last name.

(You guessed it, I'm engaged and you'll be hearing all about it.)

And my soon to be maiden name is Hicks.
C.Hicks
 Growing up it always said Chicks on my PE uniform, and I've been given chicks by employers as an email address.


And of course, I'd like to think that I'm a witty chick. So BAM. There you go.