Where I’ve been

So since I last posted, my life exploded and came back together. In a good way. Here’s the quick-and-dirty rundown of my doings.

• I moved. Twice. MVH and I lived in Kenosha for about three weeks in a corporate apartment. He started his job at SCJ, a family company, and I enjoyed some downtime before class started. I sewed two pencil skirts and watched a lot of cable TV. I got bored. (This would be the last time I was bored for a loooong time.) Then we closed on our house in the Milwaukee ‘burbs (on my birthday!) and spent Memorial Day 2010 moving.

• I went back to school. Since the last time I checked in around here, I completed 11 classes in my M.B.A. program. I took summer classes for the first time in 2010, and holy crap, those things move F-A-S-T. I really thought I would have time to keep up with blogging. Oh, how wrong I was. I have to brag a bit, though, guys — I earned an A in Accounting. It still blows my mind a little bit. Erin + Accounting. I am liking school a lot, and I can say with confidence it was the right decision for me at the right time. I love newspapers, but I’m glad I don’t work at one anymore.

• I held down the fort. MVH traveled internationally for work eight times in the past year. That means he spent about two months abroad! The trips usually were only five days at a crack, and I’ve been blindingly busy most of time, but it wasn’t what we were expecting from his new position. Lots of frequent flier miles were earned!

• I traveled to Puerto Rico. Between semesters we had a warm-weather holiday in the Caribbean. We visited Vieques, one of the Spanish Virgin Islands, and we were wowed by its natural beauty and wild horses (!!!!). We also stayed in Old San Juan on the main island. OSJ is a treasure — compact, colorful, and delicious. PR may be part of the States, but it feels a world away.

Clockwise from top: Kitty and Gato snoogle in the sun. Kitty spoons Gato. Gato likes to take “hobo treasure” — especially tissues — out of the trash. I love this photo because it looks like Kitty is thinking, “Man, you are a straight-up hobo.”

• I expanded my family (part I). We adopted a kitten from Second Hand Purrs (great name, isn’t it?). His name is… El Gato (“cat” in Espanol)! The vet declared our longtime cat, Kittywampus Q. Van Handel, obese. She weighed in at 20 pounds but should be about 11. Yikes. Along with a restricted diet, a kitten companion was suggested. Gato joined our motley crew in January and has been irritating helping Kitty burn calories since.

We’re down to less than a month!

• I expanded my family (part II). What have I been busy making lately? A human being! Das Baby is scheduled to arrive in early June, and we are over-the-moon excited! I anticipate a lot of my future making will revolve around my new tiny.

I have been itching to get back to blogging, and I’ve got a bunch of stuff brewing for Sie macht. Maybe it’s the nesting instinct kicking in. 😀 See you soon.