Sorry for the break...

Hello all!

I am so sorry for not posting anything lately, but my mind has just been crazy. LOL. So much has gone on over the last few weeks, that I don't even know where to start. Well, I guess I'll just start after I signed up for the CNA class. We made the first payment on it that day & have made 1 other payment towards it. Just have a lil over $280 to pay up before the class starts on May 16th...yup, only 19 days away...wow, where did the time go!? LOL! I'm getting excited though! My dream of becoming a nurse will finally be on it's way. I know that I won't be a "nurse" persay, but that's ok. This will just be the 1st rung on the ladder to my ultimate dream. :) I'm really looking forward to it! Once it starts, I'll try to keep y'all updated as much as possible to let you know how it's going! :)

Something else has happened in the last few weeks that I am NOT too happy about. You see, we are renting our mobile home from my husbands' parents...who also just happen to be our next door neighbors...yup, you read that right...they live RIGHT. NEXT. DOOR. When my husband & I first moved in here back in November 2009, it was ok. We needed a place to live in Wichita, as the job market in Newton was NOT going well for me (I was working as a desk clerk @ a hotel @ that time), and we were barely making ends meet. So, even though I knew I would be leaving my friends behind, we packed up and headed for Wichita. Luckily, it is only 30-40 minutes away from Newton. LOL! Anyway, Travis' dad & stepmom came to own the trailer next door to theirs & offered it to us, as they knew the situation we were in. Of course, we would have to pay them rent ($160/mo on top of the $140/mo lot rent), which was fine with me, and yes, I knew that we were going to take it in a "as is" condition, but they were in the process of fixing some of the major problems. So we move in and things are going well......for the first few months, that is. Then, things start to go downhill. The first issue that pops up? The bathroom floor in my bathroom has not been finished, even though we were told it would be done BEFORE we moved in. Granted, I had a floor, just no tile to cover the plywood. Well, after MANY requests for it to be finished, and many "we don't have the money at the moment, but we will get it done this month," my husband decided to take it into his own hands and finish the floor himself. So, we went to Lowe's and picked out a nice tile for the floor, and around 3 hours and $45 later, the floor was tiled. Yes, that was ALL it took to tile the floor. Now, tell me, HOW HARD is it for someone to do that!? I mean, c'mon!!! You promise us it'll be finished before we move in & we end up having to finish the job ourselves? Um, yeah, that should've been the first warning sign of things to come.

As the months go by and we get closer and closer to the 1 year mark of living here, more problems arise. We begin to have soft spots appear in the living room & kitchen floors. We tell my in-laws (aka, our landlords) and once again we are told they don't have the money to fix the problem at the moment, but that it will get done by the end of the month...and that is repeated over and over, even to this day! The soft spot in the living room is completely ridiculous and on the verge of dangerous, and the kitchen floor just looks terrible. I am honestly embarrassed to have any of my friends over because of the condition of this mobile home. There is a huge hole under the sink in the cabinets, the above counter cabinets are rotting away in places, the windows are not sealed properly, so winter was AWFUL for drafts coming in whenever the wind would blow (and it was freaking COLD this past winter), there are broken panes of glass in different windows throughout the home, and our a/c & heating unit is ANCIENT. I swear to god that thing has go to be like 80 yrs old! Our poor electric bill was absolutely horrendous this past winter because of it. But, I digress. So, even though we have told my in-laws about the problems in this home, nothing has been done to rectify it. EVEN THOUGH, they seem to have the money to go to the casinos whenever they feel like it or go on day trips to god knows where. Yeah, we get the excuse that they don't have the money to fix the problems right now, but yet, my father-in-law even ADMITTED to me that they do the very things I have mentioned in the sentence above. This has been a VERY sore subject for me, and if you were to ask them, my friends can attest to this very fact! LOL. I'm grateful that they are there to listen to me bitch about things, but on the other hand, I feel bad for dumping it on them. Some days, I just need to get it out or I will burst!! My husband has also felt the brunt of that storm quite a few times over the last few months, and thank goodness, still loves me to this day. LOL. So anyway, a couple weeks ago, my mother-in-law calls up Travis & basically tells him that we HAVE to take the trailer from them (they would transfer the title to us, free & clear) OR come July 1st, we are out on our asses with no place to live. YUP, you read that right. That was the ultimatum. Take the trailer or be homeless. Boy, did that set me off!! I even had a heated argument w/ my father-in-law over this whole thing, and let me just say, it felt good to get out everything I had held in for almost the last 2 years.

So, you're probably sitting there saying "what's the big deal? You'll have your own home now." The big deal is the fact that my husband and I do NOT want to live here anymore, and actually had a plan to move out as soon as possible after I got a job as a CNA. Now, we are going to be stuck w/ a broken down trailer (yes, that's how I look at it) until we can find someone that would be willing to take it (as is, minus a few repairs we plan on making) from us for practically nothing. We even got a phone call about a week after my mother-in-law called my husband, from the apartment complex we were looking at moving into (and accepted at), saying that they would probably have an apartment available the middle of June. Wow, can you say ROTTEN TIMING!? Or should I say, everything's falling into place, just at the wrong time!! Sadly, we will not be able to take that apartment at this time, but we are still very interested in moving into the complex, and hopefully another one will open up in the next few months/by the end of the year. Lord knows, I do NOT want to be living here come next Spring...shoot, I don't even want to still be here by this Winter! I just hope & pray that once I get a job as a CNA & we get some money saved up, we will have the funds & opportunity to move into that lovely apartment complex & really start "living."

Well, I think that's about it for now...if I think of anything else, I will post another blog. Until then, I hope y'all are doing well & I look forward to chatting with you again soon! :) Take care & stay safe!

Later gators!

*Jolene*

P.S. Sorry if this is/was a little confusing...it is almost 4am here after all! LOL! :)

Soon to be CNA...I hope! :)

Well, the title says it all! Yes, I am officially enrolled in a CNA class for May. After years and YEARS of talking about doing it & never following through with it, I finally did it! YAY!!! And, I get to take it with one of my best friends, so that makes it EVEN better! :) I'm so excited! I can't wait to say, "Hi, I'm Jolene and I'm a CNA." Hehe!! Just kidding, I won't say that....well, at least not in public! LMAO! :) I'm not going to stop there either. This is just the first step in my "nursing ladder." I hope to one day get my RN & will possibly go into Pediatrics. This CNA class will definitely help out, not just professionally, but personally. 

Having grown up the daughter of a nurse, I have wanted to be one since I can remember! As I said before, my husband & I have talked about me going into nursing for YEARS, practically since we first got together, but unfortunately, the funds have never been there...until now. :) Granted, this class is taking nearly $900 from us, but it will be worth it in the end!! I can already tell that my husband is feeling better about where I'm headed in life, and I can just picture his face, when I come home that wonderful day & tell him I passed the state boards....which I'm planning on doing! I know it'll be nerve wracking to go and take that test, but I'm sure this class will prepare us well for that day...and again, I'll have a terrific gal by my side to say "You can do it!" :) and vice versa, of course! Hehe! Every day I go to my job now, I think "only a couple more months & you won't have to do this." I am looking forward to that day...the day I can say, I have a CAREER, and not just a job. I will be so proud of myself, as I'm sure my mom & the rest of my family will be. Dang it, why can't May 16th be here already!? LOL! :)

Well, I hope this post finds you all well, and I will post again soon...take care & stay safe! Later gators! :)

*Jolene*

Happy March!

Happy March all! :) I hope everyone is doing well & has had a good month/week so far! Mine has been pretty good! So much has happened...let's see if I can remember everything...LOL.

My husband & I got accepted at the apartment complex we went looking at last month. Everything went through and all of our credit, criminal, etc. checks came back ok. The only bad thing? We have to wait until another 1 bedroom apartment opens up...which probably won't happen until later this summer. Which, I guess is good in the fact that it gives us more time to save up money & buy all the stuff we need/want for the new place. The bad thing is we are still suck in this sucky, money draining mobile home. But at least we have a roof over our head. LOL. We also got new phones, FINALLY. After 2 years of having a Blackberry Pearl, I have been upgraded to a Droid HTC Incredible. Yup, I got a smart phone. LOL! I'm liking it so much better than the BB. That thing kept giving me trouble & I was getting so freakin' tired of it, so I was definitely happy to get my new phone! :) The hubby finally got his Droid X and is happy to have it, so it's all good all around! :)

Another good thing that happened is that I got extended for another 8 months at my job! :) Yay! I'm actually on my mandatory 5 day break between "tours" right now, so I'm just spending it relaxing & trying to catch up on things that I have let get away from me...including this blog. LOL! I'm just happy that I got to stay on. I was a little worried, because I hadn't had an "edit" in a few months, so I was wondering what would happen when I came up for my review. But, it was all good and I'm in the "Satisfactory" section. Hehe! No matter how much I complain about the job (i.e.-not getting off on time, the cramping I get in my fingers from typing for so long, etc.), I really do enjoy it and am grateful to have it, especially in this economy. :) My husband is also still at his job & hit the 3 year mark back in February. I'm so proud of him for lasting so long for what he does (correction officer @ 1 of the state prisons) & he looks so cute in that uniform! Hehe! ;)

The weather has been getting a bit better lately. Sure, we've still had some cold days here and there, but we've also had some really nice warm days...Spring is definitely coming & I can't wait for it to be here full force! My favorite seasons are Spring & Fall, so yeah, I'm getting excited! :) I can't wait for the trees & flowers to bud & the grass to change back to that beautiful green I like so much. I'm excited to put away my sweaters/sweatshirts & pull out the rest of my t-shirts I have tucked back in the back of the closet. I'm just hoping I can lose some more of this weight I've piled on, so I can buy me a couple pairs of cute shorts to wear during the Spring/Summer. I don't do well in extreme heat, so when it gets to be about mid-summer, I'm dying. Especially if I have to go around in jeans all the time. LOL! I might even invest in some jean skirts or skorts or something like that...add to my wardrobe & try to come up with cute outfits. Hehe! Yeah, I'm being silly now. I think I'm just getting tired & have begun babbling, so I think I will end this here & go try to get some sleep...I know I won't sleep as well as I did last night, as there is no rain tonight...I always sleep better when it rains...the sound is like a lullaby to me. Matter of fact, any kind of running water (ocean, streams, rain, etc) will help me sleep. Just something about it! :)

Ok, I'm really going now...again, I hope everyone is having a good month/week and I'll talk to y'all soon! Take care & stay safe! Later gators!

*Jolene*

Things are looking up...

Good EARLY morning all!

Yes, it's about 3:00am here & I can not sleep, so I thought I'd pop on & update this lovely page for y'all. :) I hope everyone is doing well & having a good weekend so far (yes, I realize it just started. lol). I, unfortunately, always work all weekend, so I don't really get to enjoy it like most people. But, that's okay, because then I can get stuff done in the middle of the week and not have to worry about pushing through crowds and whatnot. Hehe! :)

So, as I said in the title of this, things are beginning to look up on my end of things! :) During the last 2 weeks, my husband & I went around and looked at apartment complexes and managed to find one that we REALLY like & we can keep the kitties with us. We filled out our application & turned it in and all the checks that they do have come back clean, and we have been accepted! :) Yay! Now, the only bad thing is that we have to wait until another apartment opens up. The one that we had looked at did become available earlier this week, but unfortunately, there is NO way that we can be ready to move by March 1st...no matter how much I want to! LOL! It's ok though. This will give my husband & I time to save up some more money and buy a few more things that we are going to want for the new place. We are basically looking at getting all new furniture and that stuff doesn't come cheap. Haha! But, we will work it out and have quite a bit saved up already, so we've got 1 foot in that door! ;) I just can't wait until we move. It will be another fresh start for us, which we desperately need. Living right next door to my in-laws is soooooo old now! I'm ready to get away and have a place that I can really relax in & not worry about people looking out their windows to see what the hell I'm doing, when it's really none of their business anyway. Ya know what I mean? Well, if not, consider yourself lucky! :) Plus, I just absolutely LOVE decorating new places! I have so many ideas in my head for the apartment & I can't wait to get started on it! It's not going to be anything fancy, but it's going to become "home" for us & I can't wait!!!!! Gee, can you tell I'm excited!? LOL! I'll keep you all updated on how that goes...hopefully by May or August we'll be in a new place. Keep your fingers crossed for us! :)

Other than that, not a whole lot has been going on. Been trying to get over this insomnia thing, but I just can't, so I deal with the best way I know how: writing. Yup, I'm writing again. I'm trying to finish up a story that I've been working on for the last year & lemme tell you, when you start a story and then stop it for a long period of time, it's hard to get the ideas flowing again. So, when I get stuck on that story, I just write something else until I get a good idea for the 1st story & I go back to it. :) Hopefully I'll have the first one finished soon & can share it with the people that want to read it from beginning to end...hehe! Plus, I've been reading a lot of books lately. I just can't seem to put them down, whether I'm reading romance, mystery, crime drama, etc., I just get sucked in & disappear into "that world" for a few hours. Especially when I've had a bad day or just need some time alone, it's great to grab a book, sit in a quiet room, and just let the words on the pages take me away. I love it. Plus, it also gives me ideas for my stories!

Well, speaking of stories, I think I'm going to end this here & go grab my book & read a little bit & hope that I fall asleep before 4 or 5am, unlike the last few nights. Again, I hope everyone is doing well & I promise to update again soon! Take care & stay safe! Later gators! :)

*Jolene*

Woah, where's the sunshine!?

Greetings all! I hope everyone is doing well & having a good day! Sadly, the sun is not shining here today, unlike what the weather said ("partially sunny"). I hate it when they lie like that. LOL! But, I'm still trying to make a good day of it! I've had a pretty good morning so far...well morning & early afternoon, as it's only shortly after 1pm here right now. Took the hubby to his friends' house & dropped him off so they could make a trip up to Salina together to look at some furniture & other stuff for his friends' new house, which means I get OUR home to myself for the day! WOOOO! Don't get me wrong, I love the hubby & all, but I also enjoy having time to myself! No sharing the computer, tv, etc. Hehe! However, tomorrow we are going to spend the day together. We have to do laundry (hello laundromat) & we are going to go around and look @ apartment complexes in Wichita, as we are planning on moving outta this place come this summer/early Fall. I can't wait! The place we are living in now is a mobile home that we are renting from his dad & stepmom, who just happen to live RIGHT NEXT DOOR. It sux! There are so many things going wrong in this home, that I'm even surprised that it's still standing! And of course my in-laws won't do a damn thing about it because "we don't have the money right now." That seems to be the excuse we get EVERY time we tell them there is something wrong. I mean, HELLO!! When the floor beneath your feet begins to sag, there's a problem!! (Yes, the floor beneath the carpet is, for some reason, made of particle board-who's bright idea was that?-and I guess it's gotten wet & has begun to sag in spots). But, I'm not going to think of that today. Today is going to be a good day. I'm going to hang out @ home & just relax. I took a couple of extra days off of work this week (thank goodness for paid leave), so I can actually enjoy my time off of work! :) Plus, the hubby & I are going to get new phones in a couple of days & I can't wait for those! I'm so over this damn Blackberry I have. LOL! The hubby got me some kind of Droid phone (I can't remember exactly which one), so I'm REALLY excited to get it! Just have to go to the store to get them activated once we get them in the mail (yeah, he bought 'em online-hey, they had a special! LOL). So yeah, this week has started out pretty good so far for me...I hope it continues that way, and hopefully the sun will come out some time today! I absolutely love it when the sun is shining bright! It makes me feel all warm & fuzzy inside...cliche, I know, but it's true! LOL! :) Well, I'm going to end this here & get back to my soap (Days of our Lives), so I'll chat at y'alls again soon! Have a great day! Take care & stay safe! Later gators! :)

*Jolene*

Welcome!

Hello everyone! Thank you for dropping by & seeing what I have to say! :)

Some of you are probably wondering why I named this blog "Sparkling Streams." Well, the reason is simple: I enjoy them & they help put me at ease! Whenever I needed to "breathe," I'd go for a walk and try to find some kind of water source, usually a stream or river, and just sit by it, listening to the water splashing over the rocks, while I let my mind wander. Sometimes, I'd take my mp3 player with me, put the headphones on, & just walk the length of that water source. It always made me feel better and afterward, I could think clearly. This is what my blog is about also. It is going to help me get out my feelings & thoughts & give me that sense of ease I so enjoy! :)

I don't have a bunch to say right now, as it is almost 2:30am and I really do need to get some sleep, but I wanted to say hello & I hope you continue to come back & visit often! I promise...I will have better things to say when I'm awake & coherent! LOL! :) Until next time, stay safe!

Later gators!

*Jolene*