Change

Change. That is probably the best word I could come up with, using my limited vocabulary, that describes both Erin and I right now. Right now it seems as if we have four homes. Jan's place in Apple Valley, our townhouse in Shakopee, work in Bloomington, and last and probably least is our storage shed in Shoreview. That's more homes than I want.

Erin has been busy painting and organizing. That in itself is a daunting task. One that I'm glad she is handling and not me. Finances have also been consuming her "free" time. (No pun intended.) With our first month's rent coming up, purchasing Christmas presents, adding a furry little family member, and dealing with the little unexpected financial monkeys, she has been feeling a bit overwhelmed. The best way I can describe her is swimming up stream. It's hard and tiring, but if she slows down her furious pace, she will quickly become behind and in a more difficult position than when she started.

Unfortunately, I don't seem to be helping her. The finanical monkey I spoke about is an inconsistancy with The Man. To be more precise, the IRS. (Those are three scary letters when put together.) According to The Man, yours truely didn't pay his federal taxes in 2002. Ouch. The problem is that particular year, I did my taxes online using the IRS' website. I printed everything off and sent it in. So what's the problem? Well, I printed everything off but I didn't send everything in. A few weeks later (in 2002) I received a letter saying I was missing a sheet of paper. Supposedly all I had to do was send it in and all my worries would be eliminated. HA! Four years later and here we are. Hopefully we will be able to find a rather inexpensive solution.

Bernt and Bella have been tackling the whole potty training thing. She has been getting better. It use to be around 3:00 am that she would wake up and have to go out. Now she has pushed that back an hour. I still need to take her out about every hour, or after she wakes up from her frequent cat...err....dog naps.

When I'm not hauling our cargo from Shorview to Shakopee, I'm doing freelance. (See my previous post for more info on that.) And even that has taken a back seat (no pun intended) since Jan has been in California. She left Wednesday and won't return 'til Sunday. You can tell everyone is anxious for us to be out on our own. Aaron and Kari already have plans for the basement and Erin and I are both anxious to be greedy and not have to worry about anyone else.

Bella has already grown so much since we got her last Wednesday. She is stubborn but extremely loving to people. She loves to be held and will nuzzle right underneath your chin. She is not a big fan of the snow, so I have to clear a little section for her to empty her kidney's. Right now she does have a little cough/cold and we are giving her meds to help her out.

Not a very fun read but it lets you know what we have been up too.

—b