Where o where is my hobbit hole?

Looking for our next dwelling to rent is stressful. Last night, I awakened at 2:30 a.m. to worship the Porcelain God. I'm thinking it was the chicken burrito from Chipotle, but it might've been some stress-related cooties, too? No, now that I think of it, it definitely was the chicken. Okay, so Chipotle is out as a fast food choice for me for, probably, the rest of my adult life.

Before Audrey was born, the most conflict and tension I ever felt with Ken was in looking for and landing upon a house to buy together in Austin. So, here we are in St. Paul, hungrily devouring this neighborhood and that one in drive-by mode, flirting with this listing and that one on Craig's List, and stopping each other short when we abruptly come up upon some miscommunicated preference or priority. Add Baby, and stir.

My stomach's getting oogie again just thinking about it.

I feel this sense of urgency. We signed a lease here at the sublet for three months; but, then there's this line in there about giving 60 days notice of when we plan to leave. There's been "wiggle room" to extend the lease until, say, January 15th, but if we plan to be out of here on or before Dec. 15, we need to send her a note saying so by October 14th. Which is, like, tomorrow or something.

Plus, we don't currently have local phone service, and we only get reception on our cell phones in LITERALLY ONE SPOT in the front left corner of our living room. It does not get better upon going outside in front of the building. In fact, it doesn't improve until we're several blocks away. Sigh. So, if we owe you a phone call, sorry. Phoning out is a pain in the ass right now.

Now, for some hopeful and happy thoughts: I drove by a side-by-side duplex this afternoon in the neighborhood we've targeted. I think the sign had just gone up, b/c I did not find this listing online. It's a 2-bedroom. We're going to view it Thursday afternoon.

Audrey is still gorgeous and fabulous and wonderful. She's "talking" a lot. And, "talking" includes testing the outer acoustical range of her voice with squeals and, my favorite, shrieks.

Ken just set up his computer today, so Grandparents, we're back in WebCamVille when you're ready.

Speaking of grandparents, my stepfather is going in for surgery this Thursday to have his intestines and such pieced back together after his big health crisis in May. Please send him your healing thoughts for the surgery and his recovery! And, lastly, Happy Trails to Dave and Jackie, who are off for the week on a trip. Have fun!