Le sigh...

I had a great time this weekend. Its so nice to spend time with real friends. Like my facebook status says, I would love to have more true friends, but I'm too socially awkward to start that whole process. I'll just keep being me. :)

Dakota is such a handsome little boy. I truly adore him and he's so smart to boot. I miss him when i'm gone for more than a few hours. He can sit, stay, watch me, leave it, roll over, lay down, get off, jump up on command, and is completely potty trained. He doesn't like doing "just for fun" tricks like shake, play dead, etc. Maybe thats his working dog breeding. We've tried to teach him over and over, and he doesn't seem the least bit interested. Even for treats. I guess there are worse things, and we'll keep trying. He walks better on a leash now, but only with his gentle leader head collar. Otherwise, he pulls like a frickin' mule...and just as stubborn. He is finishing up puppy class and we're going to enroll him in intermediate class soon. He loves the water, he loves being around people (especially men...idk where he got that one), and he likes being social with other dogs (as long as there aren't too many and its not in an unfamiliar place). He is 5 months now. :)

Now for some not so good news. It seems like for every optimistic post I make, the very next one is full of disappointment. It appears despite the insane amount of work/money we've put into Amber's car...it needs MORE work. It needs new break pads on all 4 tires, and supposedly the parts are not very expensive. Her mother's bf has offered to put them on for us, which is nice, but it kinda sucks that every time we think we have something fixed, another thing breaks. I guess that's the nature of the beast because in the last week or so we've both noticed that when the car switches gears (its an automatic) it has started to shake. I have no clue what this means, but I'm guessing its the transmission and its not good news. My car, although its the same model and only 1 year newer, is still in pretty good condition, but it'll be needing some work soon. The serpentine belt is showing some definite signs of wear and will need to be replaced. My dad knows how to do it, but I'm not sure he's going to be in the mood/have the time to do it. That's all fine and dandy, and I could pay to have it replaced professionally, but turns out I owe the IRS a little over $300...from 2007. When I graduated with my first degree I had a loan that would become a grant if I graduated within 4 calender years of starting school. Well I did, so the loan became a grant. With all the other government grants I've gotten, I've never had to pay any money to the IRS. However, this time it was classified as a cancellation of debt, and I had to claim it as income. They sent me 2 different forms and I didn't know which one to use, as they came around the same time. So I asked my father who did all my taxes to this date, and he said to use the grant form. So I did. Now I owe penalties etc, so that'll come out of my next pay check. Yay. :(

So Amber and I are discussing buying 1 new car, and I'll drive one of the 2 others. That way if one breaks, I'll have a back up. I will keep up with small repairs, but if it turns out her car needs transmission work...too bad, so sad. I'll drive it until it dies. We're hoping that this wont impede upon our plans for moving into our own house; hoping AND praying. A car payment is just going to make our budget tighter. I guess it needs to be done tho.

So...that's that. I guess we're home shopping and car shopping now.