I seem to always need a word for 'nervous excitement' Apprehension could work, but that's too negative. Any ideas?

anticipation?

some grabs from the Visual Thesaurus:

adjectives:
aflutter
agitated
all shook up
effervescent

nouns:
exhilaration
fermentation
fervour
inflammation
restlessness
turmoil

'anticipation' was the word that came to me, too.

I've thought about anticipation, but it means waiting. The feeling that I am trying to express isn't so much waiting for something. Kind of looking forward to something, but not by waiting...

Wull... Anticipating is a little more active than just waiting and it can involve some prep work, not quite as much as being proactive, but.

I think the phrase eager anticipation covers the feeling better than the unadorned version.