It is finally Spring! (quick, sell your house)

Today is Friday May 6th. The snow piles are entirely gone from the parking lot at my work. It is going to be sunny and 70 degrees today. It is finally Spring! I was beginning to wonder (after the snow flurries we had last week) if spring was ever going to make an appearance. Better late than never, as they say.

Spring is the time for changes. The snow melts, the world blooms, the roads get repaired... This Spring brings a lot of changes for the people in my life. My boyfriend's parents have put their house on the market and have purchased a new home in Oklahoma. While his father has already moved, his mother is still around, readying the house for potential buyers and finishing out the school year. Moose is no stranger to moving. His parents moved to Minnesota 13 years (or so) ago when he was 9 years old. Before that, they lived in Michigan. And before that, they lived in California. (They lived in other places before California, but these are the moves that Moose was present for.) The move doesn't seem to bother him much. His parents keep saying "Let's not stay in another house this long!" I guess it's in their nature. Plus, they've agreed to fly us to Oklahoma for Thanksgiving. So, at least we'll get to visit.

In other news, my mother intends to move as well! She also has spent the last year or so fixing up our house, which is significantly older than Moose's house. 100 years versus 15 years... hmm... Also, my family has lived in the house for 30 years. There was quite a bit of touch up to be done. Repainting, removing carpet, replacing carpet, selling personal items... All told, there are few places of the house that actually feel like my home. I don't mean to make that sound depressing, but it is true. I think my mother is happy with the progress she has made, and intends to put the house on the market on May 9th. Once it sells, she intends to move to Florida to be closer to family and friends in the area.

That brings me to my dilemma... Moose and I live in a house with NO storage space. We are suddenly going to be bombarded with several boxes of childhood belongings (THAT WE WANT TO KEEP) and have nowhere to put them. Our house is already a disaster all of the time due to lack of storage space. It's only going to get worse! Luckily, we only have 4 months left on our lease. Which means we can move into a new house or apartment with lots of storage space (hopefully). I've been looking at new places, but I haven't seen anything good yet. I've also been toying with the idea of buying a house. Sure, it would mean I'd have to empty out my 401k for a down payment... but oh well. I don't think it's in the cards, anyway. Maybe in another year or two.

If anyone needs a house in Chanhassen, MN or Duluth, MN. Hit me up! I can send you the MLS links easily.

Bulimic Cats

"Evi puked all over the carpet this morning."

"Yeah, she always does that."

"Maybe you should put their food away, not have food out for them all the time. They don't need it."

"Yeah they do. Cats are like that. It's not like they're fat or anything."

"Well they're just eating and puking, eating and puking. You have bulimic cats and I don't like it."

Mom's Visit

My mom came to visit me this morning. After being delayed due to snow, she pulled into my drive way and called. After giving her the grand tour, I showed her my room. I commented on how one of my light bulbs had burnt out but that I wasn't able to figure out how to get the fixture apart. She of course found a stool and got it down. I ran and got some light bulbs and handed them to her. While taking out the burnt-out bulb, she dropped it. It hit her head and shattered all over the ground. I got the vacuum cleaner and started picking up the large pieces.

"Only here half an hour and I'm already vacuuming" she commented.

Next, we decided to go rug shopping, a hobby of hers. My dad always says that if she could, she would buy a new rug every day. We ventured to the Rosedale mall. After scoping out Kohls and JCPenneys, we decided to go to Herbergers. Mom decided that I needed a new bed spread, and then we could more easily match the rug to the rest of the room. When we finally found one I deemed "not too feminine" and of the colors of my choosing, my mother rushed to purchase it. We then went back to JCPenneys and found the PERFECT match in a rug. All told, I think she spent almost $400. "I'm not buying anything else for your new apartment" she said.



We came back home and set up my room. Looks great, dontcha think? Tara got back from her convention and we decided to go to dinner. Turned out that somebody from the neighboring house, with which we share a driveway, had parked in the end of the driveway, blocking my mother's car in. She cursed and said "They have a lot of balls to do that." Upon getting into the car she kept repeating "I wish I had my jacket." I finally told her I had one she could use in the trunk.

We decided to go to Kafe 421... quite possibly the best restaurant in Dinkytown. We stuffed ourselves. Salad, grilled bread, pasta... even a brownie and Greek coffee for dessert. Walking back to the car, my mom was glad she had my coat. It was windy, and the 3 block walk to the car seemed long. We got in the car and I handed her my leftovers while I started up and began driving. "OH MY GOD MY SHOE!!" she yelled. "What?" Tara and I both asked, giggling. "MY SHOE! MY SHOE IS BROKEN! MY FOOT HAS BEEN HURTING! THE STITCHING IS ALL GONE ON ONE SIDE!" She struggled to pick her foot up and look at her shoe. We just laughed and continued to drive home. "IT'S NOT FUNNY! WHAT AM I GOING TO DO WITHOUT SHOES?"

We got home, noticing the neighbor still had the driveway blocked. I walked to the other side of the car and opened the door for my mom (due to the broken locking mechanism). She sat there, looking at her crotch. "What? What is all over my pants?!" I looked at her and noticed her pristine black jeans were covered in some sort of brown liquid. "Adriana! Your food was leaking all over my pants! THAT'S THE LAST TIME I HOLD YOUR FOOD FOR YOU. Boy, am I glad I brought an extra pair." She finally got out of the car and I noticed there was balsamic sauce all over my leather seat as well. Laughing, I said "Mom, you were paying too much attention to your broken shoes. You probably were holding the food so that it could leak all over you." She angrily went inside.

Upon changing her pants, she said "My shoe fell apart, my pants got soiled? What next?"

We'll see. She's going to be here at least until tomorrow evening. I'll keep you posted.