new favorite things

I have nothing interesting to talk about so for now on to some of my favorite things. Some of which might or might not be interesting to you...

- My new Keratin Complex Stealth Flat Iron! LOVE IT.

- Editing my friends list on facebook. period. the end. Had to get rid of people who claim to be "friends" but have nothing to do with you. Should have taken a lot more people off of my friends list but of course a girl has to snoop!

- My Huxley boy! (of course this isn't so new but still...) He is getting so silly. Whining is a daily habit and although it is 100 degrees here he thinks he needs the door open so he has free range over inside and outside of the house. When it rains he wants to stand outside and get wet. crazy kid.

- Getting another pup. We are either getting a yellow or chocolate pup in October. (glad my mom doesn't read my blog because then i'll never hear the end of this. so shhh...)

- Big Brother. (Loved me some Jeff & Jordan.) Combat Hospital. Keeping up with the Kardashians (Can't wait to watch Kim's wedding.. yes I am one of those people.) Bachelor Pad. (Can't stand half of the people on the show so I don't really know why I watch it.)

- House Hunting.. We can't move until November 2012 but I am so on the look out for some dream homes. You know the home you raise your kids in. The house you make into a home, kinda place. Because this house just sucks. Yes we are blessed beyond belief to be able to have a house but my neighbors drive me CRAZY! I cannot listen to the ghetto music throughout my house any longer.

-oh yes.. how could i forget.. my new JOB! Babies babies all day long! Love it. My job is so crazy busy and complicated that I find myself saying majority of the day things like.. "man i'm so far behind." "ohh.. i forgot to do such and such." "Oh that feeling of being caught up feels SO good but lasts only seconds." And then there are the nights I wake up dreaming about delivering babies and doing it wrong and it wakes me up in the middle of my sleep in a panic. Yes NOT SO fun! but i love my job.

- my Husband interviewing for a youth ministry position! we are so excited to see where the Lord leads us in the adventure!

- being crafty! so far I've made 1 thing. A yarn wreath that is ADORABLE. I'm working on collecting wine corks to make a monogram for our kitchen.

-Last but not least.. my VERY favorite thing PINTEREST!! LOVE IT. it brings out the crafty diva inside of me :) I've gotten so many great ideas from recipes to outfits to decorating ideas! Love me some pinterest.

yadda yadda yadda.. my life is boring.

ReCAP

Finally some time to relax, unwind, and have a little bit of peace and quiet. I feel like the last 6 months has been a whirlwind of madness.

January to May- Last semester of college. FINISHED! Graduated. Took and FAILED the NCLEX. To say this was a time of growing was more like an understatement. It took all of my confidence away from me knowing that I couldn't pass the test that was to "determine" my career. However, hindsight is 20/20 and looking back it was the best thing that could have happened. Yes it got rid of my confidence but that is what I needed. I am a new grad nurse who doesn't know half there is to know about anything. I have a basic foundation (4 years worth) that is to guide me in my practice with experience to make the best nurse I can be. So with that said I'm not supposed to have much confidence in my abilities. I needed that humility to put me in my place.

June- Vacation to the Dominican Republic which was exactly what I needed. It gave me time to reflect, relax, and replan. I had a GREAT time with my family and that week was simply just not enough. I could have stayed there another week for sure. I'm already ready for another vacation! June was my sit and wait month. I had to wait 45 days to retest so I basically went on vacation and spent every waking hour studying for my boards. I used a different book which was filled with strategies. Because when it came down to it... I knew my content like the back of my hand but I had no idea the strategy on how to pick the BEST answer when all 4 were mostly right!

July- the beginning was filled with LOTS of studying as my test was the 2nd week in July. I retook my NCLEX on July 12th and got the same amount of questions. I had what I thought was higher level thinking questions and a lot of medication and delegation/prioritization. I felt okay about it. I was looking forward to the 48 hour wait period until you could find out your results. ** For anyone who knows me if something bad is gonna happen it will happen to ME** So that 48 hour wait period turned into 6 days of waiting as my results were flagged and put on HOLD. Yes HOLD meaning I couldn't do the "trick" to find out if I passed.. NOTHING! So it was a waiting game. In the mean time my mom got really sick and I was staying with her pretty much all day and everyday after work. Finally on day 6 when I was fed up with waiting and was 2 seconds away from calling the Board of Nursing in SC (whom very rarely does their job in a timely fashion) I checked and 6 days later I found out I PASSED. Insert- I'm officially

J. Chinnis, RN

So moving on. I was supposed to have a job, for sure, since I've worked there for so many years as a tech. Long story short. The economy is causing us to have to down size and I was not guaranteed a job anymore. My boss pulled a few strings and was at least able to get me in part time in hopes that by the time i'm off orientation (in 3 months) there will be a full time position available. We will continue to pray for this because part time is just not gonna pay all of our bills! July was also my sweet hubby's birthday and unfortunately for him I was so spaced out and focused on my test I completely forgot about it and didn't get him a thing. Insert-HORRIBLE WIFE STAMP on my forehead! So what will August bring?

August- Hubby will start his final semester of college! I will start orientation for work. August will be a hard month for us trying to readjust to life on two different paces. However, the good news is he will only have 3 months of class and then he graduates with 2 majors and a minor! (So proud of you babe!) And on another note he has been looking for youth ministry positions EVERYWHERE and nothing has come up so not only am I going to need more hours he is going to need a job!

Just as the last 6 months have been crazy I assume the next 6 months will be as well!! Good thing we are getting good at crazy! I will post pictures of our Dominican trip soon!

can you believe it?

My goodness.. I absolutely cannot believe that I started this blog some 18 months before our wedding to document our ideas and the journey of our lives. Now, here we are a year after our wedding and things just seem to be flying by. I am so mad at myself- we have very FEW pictures of our first year of marriage. We have our wedding pictures and honeymoon pictures but that is about it. pathetic! I cannot believe I did not document the last year of our lives together. Maybe it's a God thing though because the last year has been a HARD year. We have had more fights in the first year of marriage then in our entire 5 years of dating.. crazy how being under the same roof changes things. I always find myself thinking (after a fight of course) how much more I love Jas. To say the least this year has brought us closer and taught us more about ourselves and life than I think we ever could have imagined. They say the first year is the hardest and all I have to say is I hope that is the truth! We have continued to grow more in love (mushy..sorry!) and I am so thankful for my hubby. He truly is my rock and better half. I told him today that I may not ever reach the "best wife" status but as long as I'm improving every day then I'll be closer to to the best wife than I was yesterday. I could brag on and on about how awesome he is but who wants to hear that.

Life seems to get crazier by the day but we are so happy we are where we are and I wouldn't trade it for a thing. I'm reminded of this verse today as we try and be better for each other (and for the sanity of everyone else)-

Be completely humble and gentle, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bonds of peace. Eph 4: 2-3

Okay- so two blogs in one week?! Go Jen! I'm off to bed for now. Just got off a 2 night stretch in babyland and my bed is calling my name VERY loudly. Enjoy :)

life plans

Life hasn't gone exactly as we had planned. I did graduate and I do have a Bachelors Degree in Nursing. However... I did not pass my NCLEX on the first try. Long story short... God has different plans for me. NO I'm not giving up and yes I will retest again but for now all I can do is study and keep my head up. It has been a pretty difficult few weeks for us as I am VERY hard on myself.. to the point I was physically sick. However I do know that if anyone can handle the hard things in life that it would be me! I will retest again in July and I'm praying that I pass this time around. It wasn't that the test was hard, just tricky. With all of that said I was scheduled to start hospital orientation for my RN position and unfortunately I've had to say goodbye to that. My boss has agreed to hold my position in the Nursery as I've worked there for many years and everyone knows this test does not reflect my true potential. It's just a silly test for a license number. I know patient's lives are in my hands and this test "predicted" that I was not minimally competent but I had some really bogus questions. With all of that being said- I have to remember that this is just a minor hurdle in this game called life.

And on an even lighter note- Dominican Republic HERE WE COME! We will be leaving to go to the islands in 2 weeks and I could not be more happy! This is just the break I need to lift my spirits!

I have really enjoyed having some down time as I will no longer be going to school :) I have been working 3 days a week as a tech, STILL!! (so ready for those days to be over!) And despite how hard it is to walk through those doors and still be the tech and not the RN. I am clinging to this verse.

Jeremiah 29: 11- For I know the plans I have for you, declared the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Things will get better for He has a plan!

I promise to blog more about life.. we did celebrate our 1 year wedding anniversary so maybe I'll blog about that? SEE YA!

world's worst blogger

hola-

I am officially the world's worst blogger. I keep saying Im going to blog again soon then I'll get swept up in all of the blogs that are actually worth reading and then I neglect my own!

Anyways I am literally 1 class, 1 clinical, 1 test, and 2 exams away from graduating with a Bachelors of Science in Nursing degree! whoop whoop.

What am I looking forward to?

- June trip to Dominican Republic

- Passing the NCLEX

- Starting my job as an RN in the Nursery

- Making the $$$

- Family coming in town

- Getting control of my life.. I can't wait to have 4 days off a week, go to the beach, do what I want.. definitely ready to have a life after nursing school.

This is such a ridiculously pointless blog that I really should have just skipped on it but I'll keep going..

I cannot believe I have almost been married for a year. To say the least I was so unprepared for the hardship that come with the first year. It has been the hardest year of my life. We were both looking forward to taking some time to together! I really need to start thinking about what we are gonna do for our anniversary. I'm thinking maybe a small get away in Charleston or Hilton Head. Hmm... better get to planning :)

Thanks for reading my blog about nothing! My next blog, I swear, will be of our Nursing Pinning Ceremony. It's a major big deal.

New beginnings!

I'm so excited about how things are going with life, marriage, and family. Jason and I were having some very hard months lately and it seemed like no matter what we did we were in a constant battle against each other. After another grueling fight we had it out and came back after many hours of me going to work and jas going to the beach to "think" and we really felt at peace. We started focusing on the main issues and not the issues that we have let pile up from each fight. We discussed communication, selfishness, bad attitudes, and what we wanted for our family of 3 (huxley included!) We decided that to us being together was much better than being apart and we've been together so long that we know what pushes each others buttons. We have made an attempt to start each day fresh, to communicate, make more time for each other and less time for TV/Computers, we have talked about problems, and put the other before ourselves. Let me just say that this last week has been PHENOMENAL! I've felt more in love with Jas than I have in years and I felt like we were bonded as a family not battling each other. It has been so peaceful and romantic. We went on a date to 82 Queens (I'm sad I have not taken A SINGLE picture of our 1st year of marriage) and talked as we sat outside under the heaters with gleaming lights all around us and we felt more alive than we have in forever. We talked about what we're looking forward to not focusing on the negatives behind us but what is so great that is ahead of us. It has been a monumental moment in our relationship as we have discovered that when you work on a marriage it works and that giving up is truly never an option for us because we deserve each other.

I don't think I've ever blogged to this extent before but it was such a revelation for us that I couldn't and never want to forget about the lesson we've learned. We know we will face many many more hard times but for now we are doing great and marriage has been the biggest blessing! I am so in love with him and it feels good :)

I wish I had pictures to show but I will work on taking pictures this week as we have some fun plans for this weekend!

Another random thought- as we have worked on a healthier relationship I have wanted to be more healthy myself. I've been thinking about what I want for myself and that is health and happiness. I want to have a more holistic approach to life (involving spiritual, physical, mental,etc. etc. )

I will post next on ways that we are looking to make our spiritual, physical, and mental lives "healthier"

Thanks for listening :) Enjoy!

what up?

As I blog, its a rainy dreary day out. I'm covered in blankets with the heat on and huxley laying next to me. Usually I would be sleeping under these circumstances but today I'm resisting the temptation. I had class earlier today and I am so worn out by school that all I ever want to do is sit around and relax. One word... Senioritis! Only 3 more months until graduation!! whoop whoop.

I am really looking forward to graduation because I so need some time with my husband. School has taken every ounce of energy from the both of us. We need some time to get to know each other as husband and wife. We dated through high school and college; got married in college and school has always been in the picture. We never though it would take so much time away from focusing on each other but it really has. We need time to talk, dream, travel, plan the future (paha plan the future?! yeah right..like the future ever goes how we planned!)

We are really enjoying getting to spend more time with friends and making time for each other but I know when May comes we will find so much more happiness in life and I just can't say how exciting that is for me. We really need to find ourselves and find each other. This may sound so weird to some but it just feels like we haven't figured out who we want to be we just know we love each other.. we want to be together and what we want to be when we grow up.. we have lost so much of ourselves to school and other things that we really need to spend time for us! Soooo ready!

I must go figure out what to buy the hubby for valentines day! enjoy :)