Sunny Sunday

Today was a good day. Shain and Bear went squirrel hunting this morning and let me sleep in which was so nice after a 6 day work-week. We bought a ton of pellets to start stocking up since the weather is starting to cool. Stopped by my parent's house to catch up for a bit then back to Nunda. Shain and I cleaned and did laundry all afternoon and then had dinner. I sewed for a while and then we watched movie on the new couch. He is sound asleep now and I'm trying to wind down. At least Mondays are relatively easy days at work. And I'm only on the schedule for Staples one day again this week. Two jobs is a challenge but I'm trying to tough it out.

Yearly update:

I guess I'm just a once a year blogger :) I have changed jobs again. I'm working as a receptionist at a local Dr.'s office. I'm still living with Shain and driving the Jeep. Bear is about 70 lbs now! Things are going pretty well. I've had a lot of time to craft this summer; sewing, quilting, knitting, tie dying, painting. It's been wonderful :)

Wow

My last post was in March 2010. Whata crazy year since then though. Where even to begin? Let's see. Trip to Florida in April 2010 was fun; got to spend a lot of QT with my sissy-la-la. Summer went by fast. Worked a lot of hours at pizza corner and partied all summer long. Had a great time. Went cliff jumping. Got matching dragonfly tattoos with my mom. Had one of the best birthdays ever in August when I turned 22. Also in August I started dating Shain. A guy I knew from around town who used to come get pizza from me once in a while. We went on our first date to the drive-in in Perry and have been together ever since. He's definitely that ying to my yang. For Labor day we went up to his lake house near Govenuer, NY. In October I was hired by Salliemae and left my job at Pizza Corner which as since shut down. I bought a new car a few weeks ago. Bye bye convertible, hello Jeep Liberty. The jeep's a lot handier especially when you haves new dog! I got a puppy in March when he was just 5 weeks old. My baby is a black lab named Bear and he is spoiled rotten. Speaking of babies, Riley Owen Swink was born July 14, 2010 in wonderful health and is a beautiful baby, growing so quickly! His mommy and daddy are getting married in just a few short weeks on June 11, 2011. His aunt Francesca will be a bridesmaid. I'm still living in Nunda, at Shain's house now. Just moved in a few weeks ago. That's the short version I guess. Right now just getting psyched for the wedding and raising my puppy while Shain spends the summer working on a union job in Albany.

Training

So pleased that the weather is nice and that I have gotten back into running. I really missed it. It just makes me feel great. Not only the physical activity but the feeling of freedom and of reflection. Ran 3.7 miles yesterday and 2 today and I'm feeling a bit sore but nothing a can't handle. I've traced out 5 and a 6 mile runs to work up to now that I know I can do almost 4. Running farther also helps you run faster, so I've also considered running in some 5K events this spring with my mom. I won't run races to win, but they are fun.

Other than that just doing my usual working and everything. Didn't do anything for St. Patrick's Day but did get a total drunk dial from my brother around dinner time. He was definitely celebrating :-) He does bartend at an Irish pub though, so basically I'm proud of his work.

Just Be

Sorry posting has been so sporadic lately. I am too poor to have internet access in my apartment. Nothing really exciting is going on. Working as usual. Got a new tattoo on the back of my neck, right underneath my hairline. It's a star, to remind me to shine no matter what :) Also it looks frickin B.A. My mom bought me some new tires for my car and my stepdad bought me new windshield wipers so I am totally hooked up, lol. Just saw the new Alice in Wonderland movie last night at the imax. It was pretty cool. I adore Johnny Depp no matter how cracked out his characters are. Tomorrow is my only day off this week and I have some great plans. I have a brunch date with the lovely Naomi to catch up seeings how we haven't seen each other in months! Then I'll have some lovely mix of laundry, running and cleaning. Then I get to babysit some of my favorite kids in the whole wide world which is wonderful because it's actually fun and I get money :)

Speaking of running, I've been getting back on track like I used to be in the fall. Particularly since mommy dearest bought me a new pair of running sneakers too. Love her. Ran 2.5 miles today. I forgot how much I enjoyed just going outside and doing it. It's nice to have that time to yourself not necessarily to think but rather to just be. It feels great.

Also, Margaret and I are going to Florida in about 3 weeks and I am so excited for a vacation. I plan on dividing my time between running, sunning, reading and enjoyed some dacquiris :) Kidding. I'm not going to get hammered. I am just going to enjoy relaxing and really not doing much of anything. I am especially going to enjoy the lack of pizza!

Been really homesick for Russia lately. Probably because I've been working on my scrapbook. Lena, Masha, Misha, Sergei...I miss you!

Drama

Things have been going pretty good lately. Chris and I ended up splitting up but it was the right thing to do. I've just been working like 40-45 hour weeks and doing my thing lately. Paying my bills and trying to keep my nose down the best that I can. I'm really missing all my friends lately. And I can't wait for warm weather. Plus my trip to Florida! Some exciting things though! Jacque and Casey found out today that their baby is a boy! Riley Owen is the name that they have picked out and I can't wait for him to get here! Also, I think Special K is finally going to get back into tattooing so I can get some more ink!

On a side note: Life Lesson #173: Never let a drunk, straight boy dye your hair. Particularly if you are drunk yourself. And most particularly is the dye is fire engine red. Beer pong/hair dye parties are a bad idea :)

Life Is A Highway...

...and I'm gonna ride it...all night long. Sorry for how completely depressing my last post was. I was really not in a good place. Things are feeling a little better now. That lyric just popped into my head because I have to drive to Rochester tonight to pick Chris up at the airport and I'm worried that I will have to drive in the snow and be on the highway and all that. But then it kind of got me thinking, you know. I like the metaphor of life as a road. Sometimes its bumpy, sometimes you run out of gas, get a flat tire, car breaks down. It could be snowing or raining or sunny. But you just have to keep moving forward until you get where you're trying to go I guess. I just like it.