the verdict is in...

...to the beach it is!

This will be the first time my mom, both brothers and I will be taking a trip to the beach in years.

I am very excited about spending time with all of them.

I have had a lot of requests for more “jen-jen videos” lately and I will promise to do my best and bring you a little entertainment from the ocean.

(click here to see our last trip to the beach).

The above statement could not be more true for me. I am very pleased to report that I did make all A’s on my tests last week. Thanks to everyone who was pulling for me and cheering for me and praying for me.

Enjoy this beautiful spring weather!

See you in a week, Jackson!

the straight-A student

I am now going to write about a subject that I’ve been thinking about writing for months now…..the subject being: the straight A student.

I loved this entry I just found while researching this subject on the internet—Beware the straight-A student

This is actually a subject I’ve thought a lot about over the years but its most recently come into play because I have 37 classmates in grad school. And I would wager to bet that a good 25-30 of them are straight A students. I’ve never seen anything like it. Or actually, maybe I never paid attention before. I, of course, grew up grade-less. Being home-schooled we didn’t really use a “grading” system per say. We just learned. And yes, we did take some “tests” as I re-call but I remember never even really knowing if they were graded or what grades even were until I went to college.

In college I still don’t remember grades being discussed a lot. I remember that I always had good grades—A’s and B’s. but I remember the friends I hung out with were elated to be making C’s. a B was a huge deal. In fact, I think at that time in my life, I was making the “good grades”. People used to tell me how smart I was because I had a few A’s on tests or spoke up a lot in class (which they equated to being “smart”). I thought this was bizarre—that you would base a person’s “smartness” on what letter grade they got on a test.

The reason I was baffled was this—a test (especially in our educational system) is nothing more than a regurgitation of the material presented in class. The only thing a test measures is your ability to take the test.

Most tests are multiple choice; most tests require very little thinking skill; most tests are carbon copies of information from your notes that are displayed in a different sentence form.

When I realized that a person’s IQ has little or nothing to do at all with what particular grades a person makes, it completely lost any (which wasn’t much to begin with) merit with me.

I’m a pretty bright girl. I have routinely tested very high on IQ scores. I am also a very social/fun girl and am involved in too many activities to list right now. I have high self-esteem, know which battles to pick, and have healthy relationships with people in my life.

I don’t need an A to prove any of that.

All an A means to me is that I’ve spent hours trying to either memorize my notes or figure out how the professor tests (or both). and after the test, I can’t tell you what that test was about anymore than the man in the moon (I love that expression, by the way).

My self-worth is not determined by my grades.

My intelligence level is not determined by my grades.

My life does not revolve around what grades I make.

I’ve been thinking about this because I’ve felt so much pressure to make good grades since being in grad school. We do have to maintain a 3.0 to stay in the program (which is a B average) but I think one of the main reasons I’ve been so concerned is because my classmates are. Most of them really do have to make A’s. Or they feel like they do. I don’t think they realize that a B or, heaven forbid, a C (gasp) is NOT going to kill them. In fact, it might be good for most of them.

This is one of the reasons I have always vowed to never be a straight A student:

 (I think there are only 2 semesters out of my entire schooling career that I made a 4.0—and they were long ago)

I am not perfect--in any shape or form. I am very human. This is one of the reasons people relate to me so much—for my “human-ness”. I fall a lot. I also get back up a lot. I love being dirty. I love being vulgar. I love challenging the status quo. I am very unconcerned with what others think of me.

To me, the person who *must* make straight A’s is compensating because they have low self-esteem; they are people pleasers; entirely too hard on themselves; caught up in perfectionism; are basing their self-worth and their “smartness” on that A….etc.

New Flash: I’ve known some pretty stupid people who have been straight A-ers.

Now, if you are reading this and you are a straight A student, take heart—I’m in no way saying that there is something wrong with you. Perhaps you are one of the few people that are genuinely bright when it comes to figuring out our education system. Maybe you don’t study a lot—maybe you are more of an auditory learner and can retain everything you hear; maybe you have a photographic memory—the possibilities are endless.

Maybe you make all A’s because you want your parents to be proud of you. Maybe they made you feel “less-than” when you came home as a child with a report card that had one too many B’s on it.

Maybe you make all A’s because you think other people will think you’re smart. Or maybe it’s to convince yourself that you are smart.

And let’s not forget that it is always important to do your best. It’s important to try. It’s important to want to do your best—but hey, in my world, B’s are for BEST.

And let’s also not forget that I’m saying this is an excuse for you to not study for your next test and become apathetic about your grades.

I’m just saying that it’s OKAY to make a B. and a C. and even a D-- unless you are in a program like mine that requires you to make above a certain GPA.

You are human, whether you like it or not.

You’ll make a lot of mistakes.

You’ll do things you always swore to yourself that you’d never do.

You’ll find out you are much more capable than you thought you were.

You’ll realize, one day, that grades don’t really matter.

People do.

Your relationship to your school should be secondary to your relationship to your community.

The community will still be here in 10 years.

Your grades---not so much.

Celebrate your human-ness.

Make a B for cyin’ out loud!

I dare you.

If you are one of the 4.0 people I’m talking about—go out there and make a B. See what happens. I think you’ll be delightfully surprised. And I even think some of that stress in your shoulders will let out a sigh.

It’s good for us when we show that we are human; that we are not God (contrary to popular belief); and that it’s okay not to know the answer.

As for me—I’m enjoying this semester more and here is a picture of my mid-term grades….

And guess what?

I could not be more pleased.

In fact, for me…these are good grades and I intend on celebrating them on Spring Break next week.

In other news, isn’t this weather amazing?

Spring is just about here and my heart and soul could not be more alive.

I snapped this shot this morning after my run. I love daffodils. 

a typical day in my life...

If you are one of the people who have called me at least twice a week for the last month and have still not received a return phone call from me…here is why.

Let me show you what a typical day for me looks like this semester:

5:30am—wake up/make coffee/remind myself to be grateful for this new day

6:00-7:00—Jog anywhere from 3-6 miles or study (depending on what tests and how much material I have on my plate)

7:00—Jump in shower/ quickly dress/check emails/make to-do list for the day/pack a lunch/ make sure my book bag is packed/make sure my assignments are in my book-bag/call mom back/ make sure I have my keys…

7:30-8:30—study neuroanatomy. Only get through 2 pages out of 20.

8:30—head to school

9:00am-4:00—in class—literally the entire time. On my lunch break from 12-1, I quickly eat and then look over more material for the next class or previous class.

4:20pm—get home from school (and sadly no smoke break for me)

4:30-5:00—return emails/pay bills/check assignments

5:30-6:30—Pure Barre or Yoga (depending on the day)

7:00—arrive home and make dinner

7:30-10:00pm—Study—either Kinesiology, Med Conditions II, Middle Childhood Adolescents class, etc

10:00-10:30—wind down, check messages, watch end of the Colbert Report on Comedy Central

11:00—head to bed to read for about 20 minutes until my eyelids droop

(And that schedule doesn’t take into account the fact that I have an 8:00am every Wednesday. It also doesn’t take into account grocery shopping/meal preparation (because I try and eat out only once a week), laundry, cleaning, meetings, etc.)

And that is on a good day. The bad days are when I only get 4 hours of sleep because some unexpected thing pops up….(for example, my vehicle basically fell apart last Wednesday and I have been without a vehicle for 7 days).

Keep in mind that I’m not even making A’s—I’m making more low B’s to high C’s (and some D’s). If I were to make A’s, I would have to cut out workouts and study more on the weekends---and that is not something I’m willing to do.

Also keep in mind that if I don’t work out at least once (preferably twice) a day, my ADHD acts up (even though I do take medicine) and it’s almost impossible for me to remember anything I’ve learned or studied. It’s also impossible for me to sleep. I have to wear myself out during the day so that I’ll sleep at night. Yes, be grateful if you are more “normal” in this area.

As you can see, the only time I have to actually use the phone are for the brief 10-15 minute intervals en route to the next activity….and most of the phone calls I receive require much more than 10 minutes.

Now, I know for a fact that most people are just as busy as I am. What I just described to you is probably more normal than un-normal. And I don’t have a husband or kids so usually the above schedule is manageable although completely un-preferable. Most everyone knows I like to play way more than I like to work. And I get to play very little this semester.

(By the way, I won’t go into this soap box now, but I can’t tell you how frustrated and annoyed I get when my friends, who are married and have children, assume that because I’m not married and don’t have kids that I have more time or am somehow “living the dream”. I can assure you that even though I don’t have the same stresses as you, I have more on my plate than I can handle—it’s just a different kind of busy and a different kind of stress.)

But I’m telling you this because I feel bad that I don’t have time to talk to you for an hour. Or even 30 minutes—or even really at all. At the end of my day, I just don’t have the energy to engage as much as I’d like. Please don’t take this personal. It’s not. This semester has been the worst (busy-wise and hard-wise) and I really am so ready for Spring Break (which is in 7 school days).

I also try to maintain the really important relationships in my life that keep me sober—with my sponsor and sponsee(s)

On top of that, my sister is getting married in April and I’m trying to be a good maid of honor and help out my mom and sis—but I just feel like I haven’t done enough. Aside from 2 weekends, I'll be out of town every weekend from now until April 15th.

I really am so grateful and blessed to have such a full life.

I wish, so much, that I could have meaningful, engaging conversations with ALL the people that I hold dear. I wish I could do lunch and dinner and go see movies with you. I wish I could go to your birthday party, watch your children in all their activities, and come over for dinner.

But the truth is that I won’t be able to really do any of that until May.

May 4^th to be precise—and then I’ll have a full 3 week break before Summer term starts.

So to all of you who are unable to reach me, I’m here—but not really.

The best way to communicate with me is via email (Jennifer.Nanney@gmail.com) or text. It takes less energy and time and I’m more likely to respond.

I hope all of you are doing wonderfully well. I hope you’re enjoying the little things that I so desperately want to be enjoying as well….

I'm living by this mantra...

All My Love,

Jen

naked as a jail bird.....

This past week has gone by in a fog. A dreadful fog that I thought would never disappear.

This was one of those weeks when you KNOW you’re in grad school because you’re exhausted, you never feel confident about the information, you can never study enough, you don’t sleep, you eat like crap and you look like crap.

Yep.

That was me this past week.

We had our first anatomy lab practical and exam back to back. Aside from being in class for up to 6 hours a day, I spent at least an extra 4-6 hours a day studying. (and i feel terrible about the exam we just took. i seriously hope i did better than i feel like i did.) 

(only some spoiled & ridiculous child would complain about studying 12 hour days. I realize this is the norm for some of the world..but not for this girl).

I didn’t jog or do yoga once this week. I slept a few hours a night, got up and went straight to my kitchen table to study, then straight to school, then straight home to study.

I ate nothing but pretzel m&m’s and keifers all week.

My neck has a crick in it. My carpal tunnel on my right wrist is acting up again (because I have to re-write my notes over and over). I predict by the middle of October I’ll be back in my splint. (don’t you think, dad?)

I both feel and look really ugly right now.

I’ve gained at least 5 pounds this past week.

My whole life I've been told that people envy me for various reasons...i can assure you that NO one envied me this past week;) 

All I want to do is sleep. (which is a sign that my spirit is not in alignment with my body).

The only thing that made me smile this week was the season premiere of Modern Family 

and this picture of my nephew.

Thank goodness it’s over……this week.

I certainly hope your week looked a lot differently than mine did.

By the way, we are officially now in a new season.

Happy Fall!

 p.s  but no matter how rough a week it is, i do believe this to be true.....

happy happenings

Hi Friends!

I have a few things I wanted to share with you....

The first and most important “happy happening” I have to report is that my baby sister got engaged late Tuesday night.

I still don’t think it’s sunk in quite yet that my sister (baby sister) is going to be a married woman soon-ish. I am very happy for her and her soon husband-to-be. I think they truly do compliment each other and it is true that I have never seen my sister happier.

 congrats to my sweet caroline and darling alex.

They are thinking about a beach wedding sometime in March or April. I’m sure more details will soon follow.

The next happy happening is that Chuck Palahniuk is COMING TO JACKSON, MS!!!!!!!!  I awoke to this information on my facebook newsfeed  and my heart nearly jumped out of my chest. Most of you know how much I love this author. I’ve read nearly everything he’s written. When I read the book Choke, I felt as if he was writing about me. I am SO beyond stoked and I hope you’ll come see him and buy his latest book, Damned. Chuck will be here Oct 20^th, 2011 at Hal & Mal’s. 5:30 pm. No tickets are needed. It’s a free event. It just doesn’t get much better than this;) For more info, click here.

The third thing I have to report is the yoga workshop this weekend with the amazing Noah Maze! I had the privilege of attending his last workshop here almost 2 years ago and he is phenomenal! It is truly a blessing to get this kind of expertise this close to home. And the good news is that YOU CAN STILL REGISTER! Please come out and join us this weekend. You will not be disappointed!

Also, my sweet friend, Cassie, is coming up from the New Orleans kulu to stay with me this weekend for Noah! So excited to see her and spend time with my yogi’s.

another happy thing is the weather we experienced earlier this week. my morning jogs have been even more extra delightful.

 (come on Fall!)

And yet another happy thing is that my mom bought me a dresser from Hudson’s (her absolute favorite place to shop). i’ve been using my ironing board (of which I NEVER use) as a dresser the past 4 months. I can’t wait for parents to bring it to me!

This first week of school has been both good and exhausting. I’m in class most days for 6 hours. That’s 6 hours worth of new material my brain has to digest and absorb. I can absolutely assure you it did hardly either of those things this week.  The second day of school I had over 3 hours of reading material to cover. 

When I was re-tested a few years back (IQ and ADHD testing) the therapist told my dad I had one of the worst cases of ADHD she had ever seen. She told him I needed to tape my medicine to my tooth brush so I wouldn’t forget to take it. Sadly, I can’t take the medication anymore because, of course, I abused it;)

So, now my “medication” is my daily routine of running and yoga. and eating pretty decently. I function MUCH better when I do those things. It takes me about 5 extra steps a day to keep in step with the “average” or “normal” person. This used to frustrate me. I’ve gotten sort of used to it now.

What was I talking about??

Anyway…..

OH yeah. happy things.

What are some of yours?

Hackers and Sickness

Hello, Friends! It’s been a minute since I’ve blogged. It seems that life continues to get crazier and crazier the deeper into Spring we get.

Saturday, My Gmail account (and thus, my blogger account) were hacked! The hacker sent out messages to most of my contacts saying that I had been mugged in London and needed them to send money to help get me back to the States. YIKES! It took me 2 days to recover my account. Thus far, I have no explanation as to how I was hacked or why. So, word to the wise—change your password every few months!

Monday after school I came down with a very violent virus. I went from feeling decent to feeling like I wanted to die within 3 hours! My temp spiked to 103 and I had aches and chills like nobody’s business! I took some phenegran and when I awoke, I knew my fever had broke. Needless to say, I spent all of Tuesday on the couch sleeping. I literally slept ALL. DAY. LONG.

I woke up today feeling much better but still weak and exhausted.

Whew. Glad that is over with. I hate being sick. Especially when my mama isn’t here!

The next few weeks are going to be the busiest of my whole semester. 

With work, Relay for Life, a 4^th Physics test, AND a comprehensive Physics Final……I won’t have much time to do anything but the task at hand. I honestly can not wait for May 5^th to get here—I will be done with Physics, Relay will be over, and I’ll have almost a full month to enjoy myself before Grad school starts! Whoo-hoo!!!

I just wanted to drop in and say hello! I have not forgotten about my infamous blog! Nor my bloggers! My oh My do I have a lot of blogs to catch up on!

I hope everyone has a blessed Easter!

I’ll be traveling to Meridian late Saturday night after work to dye eggs with my family...A Nanney family tradition!

All my love!

Jen

Hot Showers & Georges Barbier

Ah!!

There is nothing like the feeling of a hot shower late at night. I rarely take them (night showers I mean, not showers in general! Ha!) but occasionally there comes a need for a hot shower (like after a long sweaty yoga class) and it just feels good to be so fresh. and clean.

Greetings, Friends!

I wanted to share a few things with you!

Mainly, a new artist (well, not new at all, but new to me!) that I discovered when researching Art Deco Artists the past few days—Georges Barbier. My mind was completely blown away with his prints. They are so playful, quirky, funny, and whimsical. And they depict my favorite era—the roaring 20’s.

Not only do I live in an Art Deco style home, but I realized that MOST of my framed pieces are in the Art Deco style. They are mainly Klimt and Mucha. So, it totally fits for me to live in this place! Ha!

I have been thinking a lot the past few weeks on what art I want to adorn my bedroom walls. I have so much wall space in this new place that most of my already framed pieces are going down-stairs. I came across Barbier’s pieces and just KNEW that his prints must be on my walls. I will now dedicate the next 3 years to collecting his prints and putting them on my walls;)

Why?

Because they make me happy.

To read more about Barbier, click here!

Next I will be on the look-out for art for my guest bedroom/study area. Any suggestions?

In other Jennifer Nanney News:

I have grad school orientation tomorrow! It's called "Family Day" and my Mom and Dad and Brother (Clint) are coming over to attend with me. I will meet the people that I will be spending the next 3 years of my life with. Although we are virtual strangers now, in no time, we truly will be family. 

I found out at work today that I will be working about 3 times as much as usual (30-35 hours a week) for the next 2 weeks. This made me gulp. and feel a little over-whelmed. Besides school, I have a full load just with meetings/Relay for Life/Yoga, and various other responsibilities I shoulder. This means that a few things will take a back seat the next few weeks--and they will probably be yoga/meetings/and friends. *gulp*. 

BUT, the end is in sight. I have decided to leave my Anthro Family May 4th in order to prepare for Grad School and begin Anusara Immersion 1 and 2  at Butterfly Yoga! The Immersion starts May 5th. Just in time;) I will be so sad to leave what has become "home" for me. I have loved every minute (well, most of the minutes) with my family at Anthropologie and not only will I miss my discount, but I will mostly miss my people.

I did buy this beautiful blue shower curtain today after work. It matches my blue tiled bathroom perfectly! 

Here is a better pictures I found on the internet. Mine (as you can see) is a little wrinkled. Nothing a few hot showers can't fix;)

My next Physics test is MONDAY! and I have a very full weekend ahead! I'm trying not to get too anxious and tense. A lot rides on these next few grades. I DO have to pass with a C to be able to actually attend Grad School. Hmmmm......let's not think about that. ha!

I hope everyone has had a marvelous week. It sure has blown by fast! 

OH, Weight Watchers is going superbly well! I am only on day 3 but I can tell that my metabolism has revved up and I am enjoying learning about portions. My oh MY was I eating too much food! I love eating 5 small meals throughout the day. I already feel better! I feel that in no time my weight will be where I want it to be--and in a very healthy manner.

Here's to you. 

Here's to me. 

and here's a GREAT BIG HOORAY for FRIDAY! 

“Any great work of art . . . revives and readapts time and space, and the measure of its success is the extent to which it makes you an inhabitant of that world -- the extent to which it invites you in and lets you breathe its strange, special air.”