4 years already?!

Ryan and I celebrated our 4 years anniversary on Thursday. I had clincals in the morning, and come home to fresh baked cookies, beautiful tulips, and instructions to be dressed & ready to go by 5:15. I did some paperwork I had to have ready for clincals the next day, then we took a nice long walk and exchanged gifts. Ry loved the crazy shoes I got him, and I loved the necklace he got me! Then I went & got ready to go! Ry took us to dinner at Charleys Crab in Troy. It was probably the nicest restaurant I've ever been to; it was very nice inside & the food was great! The funniest part was that they apparently print menus for special events, but they printed ours with a typo... I like their optimism though! Here is the top of it:

Dinner was great, and we stopped for Shamrock Shakes on our way home once we had room for desert. It was a great day... and I ready for June to arrive! :)

gas leak?!

Today I came home from doing errands to see a man shuffling around snow in our front yard and a Consumers Energy van parked along side the street. I go out to investigate, and apparently called in that they smelled gas. I have caught whiffs of it when out walking or running, but since I didn't smell it 'til the end of the driveway, I thought it was someone elses home. Apparently, its coming from our yard. The man took me in the yard to show me where it was coming from; and I got a strong whiff of gas & heard the gurgling where it is leaking into the ground. A work crew came out to dig down into the ground and repair it. It wasn't our gas main, but the neighbors across the street where it connected to ours. Here is a photo of when they were working (the whole got bigger):

The upside is they said they would have a landscape company come out in the spring & repair it, so I am glad it's fixed now, and, it was winter and the ground was hard & didn't ruin all of the grass & front yard.

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Two weeks ago I picked up these gems as well:

I eyed them last year, but by the time spring/summer arrived & I decided we had room for the on the deck, everywhere was sold out. This year I started looking right after xmas, and have them all set for this summer. They are super comfy, and remind me of the ones from the Bahamas... but better since they are plastic we don't have to repaint them, and they are very durable!

I am soooo ready for spring. :)

love day & sunny skies

Yesterday (Tuesday) was a great day. My morning lab is done now that we have clinicals, and my afternoon class was moved to today due to my professors good friend having a heart attack & dying, so that left me work & class free. A free day! Ry's days off right now are also monday/tuesday. SO, we were able to spend the whole day together, which was a great bonus love day for us. :) The amazing sunny 60 degree weather was a great extra bonus as well! We took Remington for a 3 mile walk in the morning, went out to lunch, went to a movie, did a couple errands, enjoyed dinner, and had a great day. We haven't been able to spend much time together lately, as our scheduled are opposite, so it was just what we needed. :) I also took Remington out rollerblading in the afternoon for the first time this year. We only went about 3 miles, but we were both happy as clams to be out enjoying the weather! He was still exhausted today (said ryan), which is ok since it rained alll day (with the exception of a couple hours this afternoon, which worked out perfectly for outdoor running in shorts!).
I'm sure the global warming will once again retreat, leaving normal yucky February weather, but it was a great last few days for all. just what i needed to get over the winter blahs, and be hopeful for spring!

one day of clincals done

today i completed my first day of clinicals at durand senior center (which is, the new PC term for nursing home/convalescent center, etc). it went well, and the six hours went pretty fast. for the next 3 weeks i will be there thurs & fri 7a-1p along with 7 other classmates. (we are divided into 4 centers in the area). hopefully it continues to go well. it's basically doing a lot of the same tasks i had to complete when i got my nurse aide certification. i do not like nursing homes, and will never work in one (let alone live in one), but i understand knowing these skills will make me appreciate nursing assistants even more later on in my career. next semester should be more fun in med surg, etc. for now, i'm enjoying the 81 degrees the thermostat is set at. :)

1 year!

Today marks the one year adoption date of when Remington came into our lives. :) It seems like he's been with us much longer than that- and has helped really make home feel like home. We shall celebrate later with a new femur bone that is stuffed with meaty goodness. I leave you now with warm & fuzzy feelings. :)

a check off my bucket list!

This week, I excitedly checked something off my Bucket List (things I wanna do before I kick the bucket!)-- I picked up a hitch-hiker! He was on Hill Rd, which is a very busy road in grand blanc, and has no sidewalks-- fine in the summer, bad in the winter when the snow is piled up and you have to walk on the road. It was quite exciting- he was very nice and thankful, and no he did not want money or anything else. apperently his ride did not pick him up from work and he had to walk to the bus stop- 3 miles away.
so, i am glad i helped someone out, AND did something i always wanted to do! :)