life lately

Lately we've been adjusting to married life.. just trying to get back in the swing of things. when we were on our honeymoon we agreed that when we got home we would do more things. We made a promise to each other to start hanging out with friends, planning parties and cookouts, going bowling or to the movies, doing adventurous things or splurging on deep sea fishing. Now, we aren't spending all of our money on fun stuff but we wanted to say that we were living each day to the fullest and doing things that when we looked back we could have memories of forever!

So we've had a cookout with friends, painted our bathroom, went to dinner and hung out with family, jason has made cornhole games, had a play date for huxley with some friends, took huxley swimming in the intercoastal, tried some new recipes, planned a trip to Atlanta for Jason's birthday, and we're planning a trip to the islands for next summer! We're looking for kayaks so that we can go on a camping/kayak trip down Edisto, too!

I think the best decision we've made was to live everyday to the fullest so that we don't look back and think man we grew up too fast! We're so so young and we have so much of life ahead of us and we can not wait for trips in the future and making more memories of us!

I'm so so happy with life that I couldn't be happier! We're having so much fun being married. And yes the bills and insurance SUCK so so bad but it's small in comparison to life together! We're so happy together and happy with the friends that we have in our lives. We know that there is a plan for us and we are enjoying SO much what is ahead for us. We know it won't be butterflies and sunshine but we're soaking up the days as they come, taking each day one day at a time, and we are prepared to take the storms together and live each day like it's our last!

honeymoon continued....

On day two of our honeymoon we hung out by the "quiet" pool thinking that would be really relaxing...however, it was a drag. So we nixed the quiet pool and went to the activity pool which was an infinity pool and was very nice and a lot more fun for a young couple. Day two was our chill day we didn't do much of anything to brag about.

Day three of our honeymoon we ventured out to the flea market. We took the city bus to a flea market that was 15 minutes away. It was so nice yet they definitely didn't know how to leave people alone. I was attached to jason's arm the ENTIRE time we were in there. They had great things and we bought a few odds and ends. We headed back to the hotel a few hours later and napped. Then dinner and another show. Which I think was a cirque de soleil mexican style show.

Day four we had another day by the pool! As gorgeous as the blue waters in Mexico are. The pool was way more entertaining and the heat from the sun was very very hot on the beach so we never really explored but down there. We also had a romantic couples massage that was AMAZING! All I can say was jason really enjoyed it and I loved having an excuse to get a massage! It was so quaint and cozy and it was very romantic!

Day five of our honeymoon we went to another flea market and city shops that was about an hour away from our hotel. We took the city bus which would have been fine but we told the driver we wanted to go to the market and he drove right passed it so we had to walk and walk and walk to get to where we wanted to go. We were literally walking though run down neighborhoods. BUT the people were so nice and helpful and gave us easy directions and advice to take a taxi on the way home! We spent some time at that flea market which was GORGEOUS! So colorful and not as busy as the other market. We bought a few more things including the vanilla that got confiscated in customs for being over 3 ozs. We got a taxi home and then just laid around that afternoon. None of the buses or markets have AC so by the time we got home we were worn out! We also tried to go to some shopping mall like Outlets in mexico but the prices were in pesos and we just couldn't do the conversion so we didn't do much shopping! That night we went to a fire show after dinner and it was very very cool. It was on the beach and the weather was perfect!

Day six of our honeymoon we made arrangements to go zip lining as an included excursion. I LOVED zip lining when we went to Jamaica but this experience was TOTALLY different. The platforms were man made and not in the Jungle like I had expected. They totally rushed you through the entire thing. I couldn't even turn around to see jas go so we got NO pictures. And they made you walk on poles sticking out of the ground that were very much spaced WAY too far apart for someone who is 5"1 and I was freaking out. Jason was behind me the whole time and was a GREAT encourager. I froze in the middle of the course like 4 times and he just kept telling me you can do it Jen, Keep going, I'm right behind you! I LOVE MY HUSBAND! So they talked us into another activity while we were there that was a complete waste of $169. They were called buckshot boats or something like that and they flew around the jetties at "top notch speeds" which turned out to be a tin boat made in the 70's that went 80 miles an hour. HUGE waste of money. We got back and had a romantic dinner set up in our room. We had great expectations for this but it was terrible! The setting was romantic and they made us a sign and it was so pretty but the food was terrible! So we went downstairs and ate sushi and mexican! I have a picture of jason trying sushi for the first time and he was NOT a fan!

Day 7 was another pool day. we also ventured out onto the beach for just a little while to take some pictures! this day was our final goodbye to cancun and our relaxing day. Jason made me a mani/pedi appointment and it was lovely! We packed and had dinner and then saw our final show which was an anything can happen show! we had to answer trivia, articles find where women were taking their clothes off for us to get points (CRAZY!) and then do the train around the lobby of our hotel!

Day 8 we woke up and had breakfast and then headed to the airport!

Overall, it was a great relaxing vacation. We enjoyed each other company and we got some much needed time away from the rest of the world! We are looking forward to many more vacations and we're hoping to get away next summer to Costa Rica or maybe we'll pick some place else! Wherever we go it will be fun and i'm soooo excited!

That concludes our honeymoon and i'll post pictures as soon as I get them off of my computer!

Honeymoon

Our honeymoon was a little bit different than we expect...now, don't get me wrong we enjoyed our relaxing vacation! We left our house at 515 the next morning after our wedding which meant very little sleep for us (which we were both very worried about because I don't function well without sleep). We had a smooth check in and we didn't wait long before our plane boarded and we were off to Miami! We arrived in Miami at like 850 and our plane boarded at 1030 (however we added an hour so it was more like a 3 hour layover with the time change).. while we were at Miami I slept and slept and slept and then we got some food and then got on our plane to Cancun! We arrived in Cancun at 1150 and then we had to go through customs and passport stuff. We had prearranged transportation so that was VERY nice. We hopped on our bus and were off to our hotel. The best thing was that our hotel was a very short ride from the hotel! We got to our hotel and they gave me a white carnation and we both got some tropical beverage! We got checked in and got the details of the hotel then headed to our room. I was expecting a super cute room with flowers and stuff like that but it was just the normal hotel room. Our resort was very very nice. We got in and sat on our balcony on the 8th floor and overlooked the activity pool. We ordered mini cheeseburgers and just hung out. Then we decided to adventure around the hotel and see what was around. We went to the beach for a short walk and then I think we got ready for dinner. The first night we went to the mexican restaurant where I had burrito's and jason got fajita's...can I just prepare you for how many times I'm going to say I loved the salsa and guacamole.YUM! That night we went to the Michael Jackson show which was entertaining!

Hope you enjoyed our first day as honeymooners! We will be posting more later with pictures! As we are at 20 days of marriage it is almost hard for me to remember everything we did so i'm going to try and post soon so that I truly don't forget things that I will want to remember!

the DRESS

My goal for this post is to remember everything I possibly can about the wedding...so here we go.

Firstly I must add that the sunday of my wedding-week came and I was just relaxing at my house waiting for my grandma and mom to come over and visit me. They get there and I decided to try on my dress. Now, let me remind you that I took my bridal portraits a few months before the wedding and got my dress a little dirty so I took it to the dry cleaners. Well I hadn't tried to dress on since getting it back from the cleaners because I thought all would be well... NOT SO MUCH! I tried it on for my mom and my grandma and my blatantly honest mom said it's a lot tighter than it was, which was obvious to me because I could feel a fat roll in my backside by the zipper. So we said well maybe I should just keep it on and a few minutes later it seemed a LIIITTTTLEEE less snug. (all the while i was having major issues breathing in the thing) So my mom says well maybe you should stretch...GREAT IDEA? (No BAD BAD idea) So I stretched and started getting a little more air in my lungs and then..dun dun dun.. i tried to touch my toes and so i started thrusting towards the ground with my arms a few times. and then IT HAPPEND.. we heard a wrrriiippp (fabric breaking, popping, shredding) the only thing i could think to do was say NO, NO, NO that didn't just happen.. and LAUGH (and then freak out) my mom and grandma are on the back sides of me and I hear some foul words and then my grandma said, "ohhhh NOOOOOOOO" and then trying to cover up the dreadful situation say, "ohhh NOOOOOO it's NOT THAT BAD!!" We took the dress off and the entire seam had wripped right down the zipper. At this point I started counting the days.. Monday-1, Tuesday-2, Wednesday-3, Thursday-4, FRIDAY-5... 5 days until I'm supposed to get married in this dress. So we made some emergency calls and this lady that we knew was suppose to fix it and let a little out. Took it to her on monday and she said she'd have it to me by wednesday. Thursday came around and I FINALLY got the dress and decided to try it on. Well I looked at it for a few hours and ignored it because I DREADED the dress at this point. Then we took showers (as we were getting atleast 15 people ready for the rehearsal at one house... and I thought, i'm feeling skinnier let's try it now. So we stuffed my fat-behind into the dress and DUN DUN DUN... (situation- I had my cousin holding my boobs together, jomarie was holding my back fat together, my mom was trying to zip the dress, i'm not breathing- i was thinking skinny and some how trying to metamorphasize my body into the shape it needed to be to fit in the dress) so back to the story... my mom can't get the zipper up.. we got the dress back from the lady who was 'supposed' to fix the dress and there was still a LARGE hole in the seam of my zipper. I FREAKED out... and I mean I freaked..started counting days again.. Friday-less than 24 hours away... LESS THAN A DAY AWAY AND THAT DRESS NEEDED TO FIT ME! Thank the Lord that a family member from florida had arrived less than thirty minutes before and was able to stitch the dress. She gave it a good look..told me what I needed and Jomarie and I headed to Target less than an hour before we were supposed to be at the rehearsal dinner. The trip should have taken 3o minutes round trip..we made it to the target and back to the beach house in 16 minutes!! So my family member Eva stitched the dress while we were at the rehearsal and at dinner she told me she had double stiched the seams and that it was FIXED!!! I tried it on at like 1130 that night because she suggested i wear it for 30 minutes...still very very tight but atleast it zippered. Little by little the dress was getting more bearable to wear..so I got out of the dress after my 30 minutes were up and put it away and prayed for the best for the next day. The wedding day came and I was in the men's bathroon with Kristen while my uncle was getting ready and men were walking in left and right... all i could think about was the dress. kristen pulled the dress up and I kept asking her, " is it gonna fit? please tell me it's going to fit" she was sooo reassuring.. she kept saying don't worry it's going to fit. Finally we got to the zipper and i held my breath and she said OH YEA this is gonna fit NO PROBLEM! After all of that hassle the dress fit to a tee!! And that is the story of my wedding dress!

Disclaimer** I didn't do a diet so I did gain weight before the wedding but the dress didn't fit because of the weight I gained/or didn't gain.. it didn't fit because IT SHRUNK at the dry cleaners. All of the shrinkage was in my bust area and around my rib cage... NOTE- to everyone getting married..do not take your dress to the dry cleaners before the wedding and if you do please go on a serious diet or try it on like 5 times a day before the wedding!**

My wedding dress was perfect and the BEST dress I could have imagined. I did so many alterations to it but it was MY perfect dress!

Enjoy!! Another posting will be coming soon!

Catching up!

We are back and getting into the swing of things. The wedding week was craziness and it hasn't stopped since. I will eventually start posting from about the wedding week but right now I can't even get over all of the house work that needs to be done. So for now I'll post a link of some pictures from the ceremony/reception that my dj posted and letcha have a look! it's mostly just details but i LOVE seeing pictures of the wedding so I'd like to remember these pictures in years to come!

http://picasaweb.google.com/deisel40/MrMrsJasonChinnis#

The wedding was beyond gorgeous and it was EXACTLY what we wanted.. casual, southern, and fun!

That's it for now. I'm headed to the pool to gather more sun and hang out with the cousins!

nesting

You know that thing that pregnant women do at the end of their third trimester..nesting? well that's me, except i'm not pregnant... i'm obsessed with getting my house as clean and tidy as possible before i leave for a few weeks.

I've been dusting, sweeping, moping, laundry, and every other type of word used to describe actions of cleaning.

I'm happy to say that I feel like I'm accomplishing something but there are so many nooks and crannies that I feel like i'm leaving out.

Well, enough about cleaning. Here are the plans for the next 7 days!! ONE WEEK until our wedding day!!

today (friday the 21st of May)- picking up my dress from the cleaners for a whopping amount of money that i shall not even think about. packing because i dread packing so i have to do it in little increments. cleaning duh! and then organizing everything so that i don't forget anything at the house that we might need for the wedding ceremony, reception, or honeymoon.

Saturday 22nd of May *tomorrow*- possibly meeting with the person performing our ceremony to tie up loose ends and go over the order of service. loading up all of the JUNK for the beach house. my grandparents are leaving in the AM from Iowa to come for the wedding. I'm so so so excited. I love my grandparents and I'm really excited because my grandpa is walking me down the aisle and I talked to him on the phone the other day and he was so cute. He said, " Maybe, when we get there we can practice 'the walk' because i don't want to mess up or anything!" This was so so sweet to me because the only other person he has walked down the aisle was my aunt sis and she passed away a few years ago of breast cancer. I know this moment will be very very special for the both of us and i'm so excited! I plan on cleaning again tomorrow just because I cannot leave my house messy. I just can't do it..you never know who will stop by.

Sunday 23 of May- my grandparents will arrive in the darkness of the AM because they drive straight through! then we'll pack up my mom's house and ALL the wedding stuff... hang out with the fam and then who knows?

Monday the 24th- Isle of Palms beach house with the family.. simply just relaxing that day because it will only be me, mom, gparents, gma, and family later in the night.

Tuesday the 25th- picking up my cousin from the airport, beach/pool, double date night to who knows where but i'll be sure to take lots of pictures, then just hanging out with fam.

Wednesday the 26th- treating my mom to a spa day with my grandma's... beach/pool, family flies in, bachelorette party!!!!!!

Thursday the 27th- setting up in the afternoon, beach/pool, rehearsal at 600 then rehearsal dinner at 730. then home to the beach house to party for lauren's 21st birthday

FRIDAY the 28th!!!!!- Wedding day! bridal luncheon in the AM, then getting ready, hair and makeup between 230 and 330. pictures and then going to the venue at like 500!! Ceremony at 630 and reception to follow!!

Saturday the 29th - June? Sun Palace Resort Cancun for our HONEYMOON!

Osta La Vista Baby!! (ps please forgive my poor attempt at spelling how i pronounce!)

Enjoy

Jen

Wedding Vows=done!

Today, I didn't have to go to work which allowed me time to work on finishing up my goody bags for the bridesmaids!! I wrote my vows and I can definitely say they speak multitudes of why I'm so in love with my man. I'm starting to think this whole wedding thing might just be setting in!! That makes me super pumped!

The entire week everyone has been asking me if I'm nervous or excited and I just couldn't tell them. I wasn't nervous and I wasn't really even that excited.. it just hadn't hit me. It still felt like it was so far away. We started with 609 days until the day was here and I still felt like i was just waiting. But now, I've written my vows, I can envision the ceremony and the music and me and my dress and the girls and I'm soooo excited! I'm not nervous though. Everyone at work says if you aren't nervous then that means you are ready. Not to say that if you were nervous before you got married that you weren't ready but I do feel ready!

I have to work a 12 tomorrow and then I'll be packing and cleaning the house and meeting with the person who will marry us to tie but all the loose ends and then it's really wedding time. My family comes in on sunday morning and then we go to the beach house on monday and then cheryl and her boyfriend come in on tuesday, wednesday is a special day for my mom and grandma's and I, and then it's bachelorette party, and then thursday it's set-up, rehearsal and rehearsal dinner... then home to birthday celebrate for lauren's(another bridesmaid) 21st birthday because it's really on the wedding day and we have to make her feel special! Then it's wedding day!!! I feel like it's going to fly by now and I'm kinda not ready for that, which is a major change from last week when I was just ready for the whole thing to be over!!!

Cross your fingers... i have to pick up my dress from the dry-cleaners on friday and I'm hoping that it still fits, that it isn't damaged and that the CRAZY amount of money I spent to get a tiny little bit of make-up out of it will be worth it in the end.

Going to do laundry!

Thanks and Enjoy,

Jen