Fiance and I have been living in our apartment for a couple days now. We have to move our desk into the new apartment this weekend.

I called AT&T today and ordered internet. It is possible to have internet without a landline. There is about a $70 one-time fee and then it is $35 a month. The service is month to month so we can change to a lower internet speed later if we need to. (For those wondering, I'm currently at my dad's using his internet.)

Not much else is going on. I haven't had work the past couple days so I've been mostly reading. It's been nice. I have several books on my Kindle that I downloaded for free and I have been meaning to read. Wuthering Heights is up next on my list.

Fiance and I bought a couple plants and they have died. They probably would have lived longer if we had remembered to water them.

That's about it for now. Life is pretty boring right now and I'm enjoying it.

I have been so busy lately I haven't had time to blog.

We are moving officially into our apartment tomorrow! I'm so excited! We have already moved many things into the apartment but still have a lot left! I say this a lot, but I am constantly surprised by how much stuff I have. I've given a lot to Goodwill. I'll probably be dropping off more stuff later.

For the first time ever, I had to pay a fee at my bank. I completely forgot that there is a limit to how many withdraws you can have a month from your savings account. I kind of went over. By a lot. I'm not going to ask the bank to reverse the fee as it was my fault I went over my limit.

Which brings me to the main point of this post... would it be a good idea to keep a higher amount in checking to prevent another excess use fee? I think keeping a $1,000 in checking would be a good idea. At the beginning of each month I would make sure there is $1,000 in the checking. Then that money will be used for rent and bills and groceries throughout the month. My checking does earn interest, just not as much as my savings. Would this be a good idea?

I better get back to the laundry... I still have several loads to do before we move.

(Removed for now)

Well. To make this post financial related, my fiance and I combined finances yesterday. We now have $9,100 split between a savings account and a CD.

We also need to decide when we will be getting married. And then start saving for the wedding. We both want a very casual wedding. After working numerous weddings, I am very sure I do not want a formal (or even semi-formal) reception. Have the ceremony at the cathedral and the reception at a relative's house is what I'm thinking.

So much talk of weddings right now!

What is with me and books lately?

I found the book I had to sell and was able to ship it today. The book had been packed in the wrong box.

I had rented a few books from the library a few weeks ago. They were due yesterday. Guess where they are right now? On my couch. I'm going to the school tomorrow so I'll return them then. I don't see the point in going to school today when I'm going there tomorrow.

Here is an interesting article:

I sold a book over the weekend and was planning on shipping it today.

Only problem: I can't find the book! I have like four boxes of books waiting to be sold and the book I did sell isn't in any of them! I'm hoping I left it in the car by accident but I won't find out for sure until fiance gets home. I know it is somewhere but finding the location is proving to be difficult.

Ahh.. it is very good that I have until Wednesday to ship the book.

I'm really torn.

There is a cooking class in three days that I really, really want to take. It costs $85 so I'm a little hesitant to sign up for it.

Yesterday at work I got $45 in cash tips, totally unexpected. I was thinking of using the money I got for the class and the remaining $40 will come out of the paycheck I get tomorrow.

But... I also want to use the $45 to buy some things for our apartment. All we need now is some kitchen knives. I probably won't buy a full set, but just a few knives to start with.

I'm so torn! Fiance says to do both, and while I'm really tempted to do so, I don't think it is the best idea. We're combining finances tomorrow so we'll have about $9,000 in savings after tomorrow.

I feel like I've been spending a lot lately. When looking over what we have spent, we spent about $500 on stuff for the apartment this past month. That includes a bed, small appliances, cleaning supplies, towels, and some plants. Even though we have spent a lot, the vast majority of things in our apartment are from family and friends.

Plus we will need to pay tuition soon and buy books. Fortunately, fiance won't have to worry about that. He receives more scholarship money each semester than what his tuition is and can buy books with what he gets back. I, on the other hand, have to pay a little each semester plus books.

BUT...if I don't take the class, I will regret it. I've been looking forward to it and the class won't come again for a few months. And my dad has like three sets of knives and has said that I can borrow some knives until we can buy our own.

I think the way to go would be to borrow some knives from my dad and take the cooking class. Then a month or two from now buy some knives for ourselves.

I have this entire week off from work. Fiance and I have decided that the 25th (this Saturday) we will move officially into our apartment. My brother and I need some space from each other. So this week will be spent moving the last of our stuff into the apartment. I can't wait!

I discovered a big surprise today!

I logged onto my credit card website to check the balance and when I have to pay the bill. I noticed that the available line of credit was higher than I expected. I thought that I had miscalculated how much credit I had left (not that I would use what is left, I just like to keep track of what I have spent). But it turns out that my credit line was raised!

It went up $300, from $1,500 to $1,800!

I'll probably receive a letter from the bank in the next couple days explaining that my credit line was increased.

Half.com should be making a payment next week. For the first half of the month I made $25.85, minus whatever I spent on shipping (about $12 I think). The month is going pretty well so far.

Today was such a busy day.

The maids came over early, which worked to my advantage as it gave me a jump start on my errands. After they left, I went to the post office, mailed a package, and then headed over to the student services building. I needed to get an official letter from the registrar that I am enrolled as a full-time student for the fall semester (my insurance will not accept a print out from the online registration). After that I had to go to the car insurance office to drop off some paperwork.

And then I went to the apartment, dropped off a bunch of stuff (purses, some clothes, the bikes) and did some cleaning. I lined all the shelves with shelf liner, washed most of our new appliances, and mopped the floor.

And then I realized I forgot to get a jalapeno pepper for one of the recipes I'm making this week. So I went to the store to buy one.

Yes, one jalapeno pepper.

I'm not quite sure how much I was expecting it to cost, but I was not expecting it to cost $0.02 (how much it did cost). I'm lucky I had a nickel in my wallet. I normally don't carry change (unless I find it on the ground) and I wouldn't have been able to use my debit/credit card for that purchase.

The guy ringing me up thought it was hilarious I was buying one jalapeno pepper. He asked me why I was buying one and seemed surprised to hear me say that was all I needed. He probably doesn't see a lot of people buying jalapenos one at a time.

I don't like buying things in bulk. It is just my fiance, brother, and myself (and soon will be just my fiance and I) and we don't need to buy food in bulk. Most of it will go bad before we eat all of it and our freezer isn't big enough to freeze everything.

Fiance and I have decided to go ahead and completely combine finances. He has a CD that will mature this Sunday so Monday we will add him to my savings. We might rollover the CD (with my name on it this time) or we might add that to our savings. We'll probably roll it over for another 3 months.

For the first time, I have a repeat customer on half.com! Whoever it is, has purchased a few books from me within the past week and a half.

My total for this month so far is about $26.

Work today was a doozy. So much going on. We had a small fire at work today. Fortunately it was at the end of the banquets so all the customers had already left.

I created a file document of recipes I like on my Kindle. There are a few recipes I have memorized, but not all. This way I don't have to re-print the recipe when I want to make it again (pieces of paper do not stay clean for long in my kitchen) and I don't have to lug my laptop to the kitchen and awkwardly try to keep it from falling asleep. I can eve have the Kindle read aloud the recipe to me so I can listen to the steps as I go along.

I've recently discovered MineSweeper. I hadn't played it before a couple weeks ago and now I'm almost addicted. I think fiance is regretting introducing me to the game; now I'm taking over his computer to play it.

Last night fiance and I went to Walmart to get a few things.

$19 toaster oven
$25 bakewear set
$17 fire extinguisher
$9 first aid kit
$20 5 qt slow-cooker (probably too big for us but fiance did not want to get the smaller one that was $5 cheaper)
$14 blender

We also bought some pantry essentials: vinegars, stock, rice, pasta, etc.

I don't think we need to get anything else. Some sheets, but we don't need to buy a comforter. Everything else we got from family. Including a microwave.

I put off grocery shopping and now I have to do it. So I'm making a menu for this week right now. Whole watermelons are only $0.50 right now so I'm trying to find recipes utilizing that.

I was not expecting to have today off. I was supposed to work but they didn't need me so I got to go home.

Of course I won't get paid for today but that also means I get to hang out with my friends tonight. And spend money instead of making money. :P

Things have been going very slow lately financially. Fiance and I added him to my checking account so we can write checks for the rent and pay for groceries and things. Now we are talking about completely combining finances, having a joint savings instead of separate savings. We're still discussing it and trying to figure out if that is the right thing to do. We both trust each other with money and there's no doubt about the other mishandling the money. We're not going to make a decision soon but the idea is on the table.

My last class ended today! Yay! No more classes until late August; what am I going to do with my free time?

On the same note, I am thinking of enrolling in a cooking class later this month. It cost $85 and is a 2-3 hour class, everything supplied for me. It will teach basics of cooking: using a knife, etc. Perfect for me as I need to master the basics. We'll see.

So far I've sold about $20 of books on ebay. I have about 30 more books I was thinking of selling. I changed my mind but I have 55 listed (I added more!) and I just want to get rid of the books. So I will donate the books to Goodwill.

Wow!

The past few days have been such a whirlwind that I've barely had time to sit down.

First thing is first:

We love our new apartment! We have all the furniture (well, almost, we need at least 2 dining chairs) in place and need to move clothes and some random things. We've been moving a lot and have made a couple friends in the building. We've been spending a lot of time there because...

I am at my wit's end with my brother. I do not want to watch him anymore. I know my dad is coming home in a few weeks but I really cannot take it anymore. I'm thinking about asking my grandma to take care of my brother until my dad gets back starting next week. My brother has made it perfectly clear that he does not want to treat me well, and nothing my dad says will change that. I'll probably ask my grandma later this evening or tomorrow.

Onto more happy things...

I'm engaged!

Boyfriend--er, fiancé now!--proposed a few days after we started moving stuff in. He used a fabergé egg to propose. My ring is so beautiful. It is white gold with a sapphire stone and two small diamonds on either side. Very understated and elegant. Fiancé did a good job picking out the ring.

We are waiting to tell family that we're engaged until my dad comes home. We want to announce it to the entire family at once (else we'll hear "You told so-so before you told me?!?!?!"). We have told a few close friends- and now the SA community!

There is so much more to talk about but I don't have the time! I have a final tomorrow and one the day after so I need to go study (unfortunately).

What he proposed with:


The ring:

But better than nothing.

I sold another book last night so I shipped the two books today. I had to buy an envelope for the books because the books would not fit in anything I had (they were sheet music books). Total came to $7.91.

I earned $11.86 on the books, so my profit is $3.95. Not too bad.

Yay!!!

We signed the lease toda and turned in the rest of the deposit!

We aren't totally moved in just yet. We moved in a few boxes and I will move more tomorrow.

While we were moving, a neighbor was also moving in. Turns out he lives right next door to us. He is also a student at the university we attend and is a really nice guy. We helped him unload his furniture and this Sunday he will be helping us move our furniture.

My grandma is paying for a U-haul for us. So we will probably be able to get in trip. Which would be wonderful!

I forgot to take pictures of the place today, but I will definitely be doing that tomorrow. I have to go back anyway to return the apartment checklist and bring some more stuff to it.

I'm so excited! I even sold another book today! I made $8 and change, so after shipping it will be about a $6 profit. Yayness!