yes, this time last year, i was posting several times a month on our blog. this time last year, we were doing activities almost everyday that deserved a shout out with some posted pictures. this time last year, i was tan, buff and well rested....
well, that was last year!
life has gotten busy for the plakseys. since february, i have been working as a private duty care giver for the elderly (or, as my sister so lovely calls me,"the granny nanny".) this summer, i have been doing 40-50+ hours a week. for the last several weeks (and for another month-month and a half) i am living 24 hours a day, 4 days a week with an elderly man with dementia while his daughter (his day to day caregiver) is on the east coast. this man is a doll! you know how some babies are so cute because they look like old men? well, this great grandpa looks like a baby, right down to the barely there hair! he is also funny as hell! one day, while we were talking at the breakfast table, he looks over at me and asks,"say...didn't we fool around on an airplane once?" (i mentioned he has dementia, right?). i put my pointer finger on my chin, squinted my eyes and answered,"i don't know...hard to say...i've fooled around with many men in my day.....you do look familiar, though...you could've been one of them." this earned me a chuckle and a wink from him.
as much as i am loving being with this man (mainly because he goes to bed at 8pm and wakes up at noon ready for breakfast!), i am missing my home terribly. now, illya and i are not ones to shout out our love for one another for everyone to hear. PDA is something those crazy teenagers do! our public affections for one another include punching each other in the arms or, playfully calling each other "retard" or "dork" (don't mock! it works for us!). we keep our gentle, sweet sides for just us to see. but, i do have to say that i am missing him terribly. this last week, i only had 2 days off, one of which, he had to work overtime. thank heavens for text messaging!
as i stated, illya has a job!! we really thought and prayed about what to do this summer. our answer was for him to go to school and work here. well, the idea of summer school was squashed, thanks to our idiotic government and their greencard process, which allows us to get government loans for school (long story, but they said we were in the wrong, we said they were in the wrong. several months later, we got a letter in the mail with them telling us they were in the wrong. *sigh* morons!). he also has been looking for a full time job. but, with portlands job market being so horrible right now, it has been tougher than we thought! after months and months of not finding anything, we decided that maybe it's time to look at jobs in other states. so, we applied for some positions in texas and colorado. the very next day, illya got a call saying they needed some help at a printing company 10 minutes down the road from us. go figure! he is loving the work, and it seems as if they are really loving him. we are hoping he'll get hired on after his 3 month temp position. it is a great, fair company that treats their employees with respect (something that is new to us! =) if and when he gets hired on, we both will be looking into school.
illya has also been busy with his photography as well. not only is he getting new clients, but he has a lot of returning ones as well. we are excited that people are being able to see his talent and put it to good use. we also heard from someone who saw his work at the winery and wants to have him show his art at the newberg public center. not only that, but she wants to see if he is interested in teaching classes there for people who want to learn more about photography. i really hope this happens. i really think he'd be great at it.
with all of this, we are still trying to squeeze in time with family and friends and social events. this next weekend, we are volunteering at a bbq fest, and the weekend after that, i am doing the portland to coast relay. i'm so nervous and so excited for this! i'll let you know what happens with that (if i survive it).
well, i hear my elderly man waking up at the crack of 11:30am, so i must go! hope to post pics of this summers events soon!
barely alive and kinda' kicking~
sarah and illya
5 comments:
2:59 PM
It's about damn time you posted! Geez if we didn't text regularly I would of thought you were dead! Man do you guys really want to stay in washington/oregon (wherever!) when you know your favorite people live in 100 degree weather down south! You know you wanna come down here haha! I'm not shy to share my love of you two hahahaha oh sarah how I just love you! Mwah!
3:44 PM
well at least hillary gets regular text messages, me, i was pretty sure you WERE dead ;-) see, don't you miss the life of a leisurely kept women of the summer? i am really enjoying the 100+ degrees here in st louis, not to mention all of the FREE things there are to do here :-D
I am excited to hear about your relay, and glad illya got a job and SUPER excited that you are enjoying being able to stay in one place ALL YEAR ROUND!
Love you TONS :-)
5:57 PM
well- good to see you're still alive at any rate! ;)
sounds like many adventures are happening for you two right now. give luce a love from us!!! :)
2:25 AM
Sarah you are so funny!lol
thank you for letting me read your blog! you and your hubby are so perfect together! i can tell he is as funny as you are.
It just made me think back in the day all the crazy stuff and sands kid's and the mager kids would do!LOL life is fun when you have great friends along the way.
rachel morgan
8:54 PM
It's a really good thing Illya got a job there since he hates the heat so much!!!! I know he is so happy living there! It sounds like school is in your future...Chalea is going back to get her teaching degree. We are so happy for you two and hope things just keep getting better for you. Love and miss you...barely alive one and two!!!!
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