It has been so long since I have posted here! I have missed you all.

A LOT has happened in the tail end of 2009.

For one, I am no longer engaged. Or in a relationship actually.

Ex-fiance broke up with me in late October/early November. We had just decided on a date and begun planning the wedding. Randomly (to me) he told me that he wasn't happy and wanted out.

I'm doing ok though. Really confused and angry at first but I am doing better now. I actually have a date next week. Don't know if anything will come from it but it will be nice to get out.

I changed my major!

I love math but realized after taking a couple classes this semester that I cannot work in the field of math. I took a theory class, Theory of Positive Integers, that I just hated. Absolutely hated. I don't want to have to do proofs or anything to do with proofs ever again.

The second class was Probability Theory. I had taken a couple stats classes before and thought it was interesting but after this class... no. Just no. I can't stand probability I discovered. The class focused a lot on the types of problems actuaries have so that is one career that is definitely out of the question.

So I am now an accounting major. I am taking an economics class over winter break (business requirement) and I really like it so far. My accounting class were also really interesting this last semester and I found myself really enjoying those classes.

I've gotten so much better at cooking! I did a completely home made Thanksgiving this last year. I even made the bread for the stuffing and everything. It was a hectic two days of cooking as I didn't want any help but I really enjoyed it.

So I signed up for a cooking class at the community college here. It begins in a few weeks and I am really looking forward to it.

Christmas was good. A couple friends and I went to a midnight mass and I had Christmas dinner with their families. One large holiday dinner a year is enough for me.

For New Year's Eve a group of friends and I played 3 rounds of laser tag. One round was free which was pretty nice. Then we watched "Inglorious Basterds". Hilarious movie.

Financially things are ok but could be better. Tuition has spiked dramatically and if it goes up again it looks like I may have to take out a small student loan. I am, of course, looking for other scholarships and financial aid but a student loan may be on the horizon. Fortunately, even with my major change, it looks like I will graduate in 3-4 semesters so I am not worried about having a huge amount of debt.

I can't think of much else to say. I think that covers just about everything... I hope everyone has had a great new year so far!

I know it isn't healthy, and can lead down a bad road, but lately I have been feeling really horrible and have the urge to shop.

The first anniversary of my mom's death is only a few weeks away and it has been getting more difficult to deal with it. I just want something to take my mind off it (something happy- school is stressful right now). I should be looking forward to my second anniversary with fiance, which is a few days before the aforementioned anniversary, but I can't get excited about it.

I haven't gone shopping, aside from grocery shopping, yet. Fiance has been really great- he's been trying to come up with different ways to get my mind off it and is being a total sweetheart.

I am annoyed with my accounting homework. It is online homework, with the website checking your answers. It gives you three chances to get the homework right and then you are marked wrong. In one problem we had to do an income statement and we had to calculate the income tax expense. I am 99.99% sure I got the right number for it but the website kept telling me I was wrong. I think the website made a mistake so I am going to talk to the teacher tomorrow.

That's about it. I may or may not be updating much. School and everything else is keeping me really busy.

(Sung to the same tune as "Love is in the air").

I've been noticing a lot of confusion the past few days with my life.

1) I had fun at work yesterday. And that made me question my decision to quit. Did I do the right thing by finding a new job and turning in my notice? I think so. One good day does not outweigh the many reasons I am leaving. But I have been there for a couple years and it is hard to say goodbye.

2) Marriage. I want to get married. Fiance wants to get married. Our families are mostly happy that we are engaged. But they don't want us to get married now. Or in a year. They want us to wait until after we graduate (2 years+).

I don't see the big deal in us getting married in a year. It is not that I am against having a long engagement, I just think for fiance and I it is kind of silly. We've pretty much been married for awhile now anyway. After my mom died and we started looking after my brother a friend commented "You guys have been dating for a year and now you have a 17 year old son!". And that was how it was for awhile. I know both of our families consider us practically married so why are they wanting us to wait?

They say we should wait because of the cost of weddings. But I would seriously be just fine with having the ceremony and then taking the family out to dinner. A pretty white dress is nice (and I have seen many beautiful ones that I like) and a reception would be a lot of fun... but I don't need that. Nor do I care about those things so much that I would want to delay getting married.

I think there is some other reason they are holding back from us but why? And what is it? It bugs me so much when people don't tell me things. Especially when it comes to major things like this. And when it has to do with a decision that is mine (and fiance's) to make.

And there are other things too. Much smaller things that aren't as important but still confuse me nonetheless.

1) My kitchen. It is so poorly laid out that it is hard to organize. I am so used to large, spacious kitchens that what we have feels like a shoebox sometimes. Ever since we moved in I have organized and re-organized the kitchen every few days. I think fiance is getting a little annoyed. But I just haven't found a way to organize my kitchen yet that I like for more than a few days.

2) Probability theory homework. I don't even know where to begin. Seriously. I take notes in class, I *think* I understand everything and I try to do the homework and I don't get it. At all.

3) My fish tank. Why is the water green? All the levels (ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, etc.) are OK. I changed part of the water. I checked the filter. I cleaned the bottom of the tank. Why is it green? My fish seems to be doing just fine but I am a little worried.

When I start to get overwhelmed by one thing, every other problem (whether important or not) overwhelms me even more. I need to relax for the night.

I'm a couple days late to this game but I'm going to do it anyway. :P

Let me start off by saying that my life the past few years has been... interesting. Hard to comprehend would also work. I don't think I have ever told my entire story here, just little bits and pieces.

I was not raised frugally. Just the opposite in fact. My dad made good money and was pretty good with investing. I grew up having most of what I wanted and everything I needed. My dad retired about 9 years ago and we moved to our current state.

The first few years after we moved neither of my parents worked. I remember being able to go into just about any store and being able to buy whatever I wanted. My friends joked that every time I went to the mall it was a splurge- which wasn't far from the truth.

Then my dad got restless and decided he wanted to go after his dream of opening a restaurant. He found a partner to help him, a fantastic executive chef, and a pretty good business plan.

This is where it gets complicated.

Turns out the partner was a con artist and a couple months after we opened slowly tried to kick my dad out of the company. We took out of mortgage on our home to pay for the restaurant (the house had been paid for in cash when we moved so that was the first mortgage we had on it). The restaurant was supposed to be paying my dad what the mortgage was each month plus interest. As she started gaining more control, the payments for the mortgage stopped as did his paychecks. The partner stopped paying taxes, worker's comp. insurance, and even some employees. After a couple months of fighting we got the restaurant back and was able to kick the partner out. But we could not save the restaurant.

We needed investors to turn the restaurant around and pay off the debts the partner made. But nobody would invest. We had to shut the restaurant down a couple months after that.

Few months later our house went into foreclosure and we had to move into a condo. Since I was starting college, I opted not to live with my parents and moved in with my grandma and a couple family friends. A couple months later my grandma and I got an apartment to ourselves.

During this time, a couple of the investments outside of the restaurant that my dad made went bankrupt and stopped paying. We since have received most of our money back but it was horrible timing.

My dad did a few contract jobs but never found anything steady. Then in March of 2008 he got a job in a neighboring state. It was supposed to last 5 weeks but ended up lasting 17 months.

When my mom died in October of 2008 I moved into the condo to take care of my brother. My dad could not come home for good because without his job we wouldn't be able to pay any of the bills. So I stayed with my brother.

My mom was never able to work because of her illness. Some days she could barely get out of bed so holding down a job was almost impossible for her.

I think the turning point for me, when I changed from being very spoiled to saving every penny I could, was in between when we won back the restaurant and when are house was foreclosed on. During my senior year of high school I was working 30+ hours/week to save money and help my parents out.

I still can't believe how much I have changed over the past few years. Though I was very spoiled, I was never bratty and I did appreciate everything my parents gave me. But I appreciate everything differently now. It is hard to explain.

That's my story- at least most of it anyway. I am not bitter about anything that has happened and I appreciate everything I went through. It made me mature a lot faster and made me realize what is truly important.

Yay for relatives!

My grandma and aunt have given fiance and I a gift certificate to Walmart. So the two of us will be going to Walmart later tonight to do some shopping.

July was incredibly busy. It really flew by and I just realized I only have a few more weeks until school begins. I can't believe my summer is 2/3 over!

I also paid a few fines this month. I returned my library books a couple days late ($1) and then the excessive use fee on my savings for excessive transfers ($10) and I just had an overdraft fee ($10) because a check was cashed that I was not expecting to cash so early. Oh well. Live and learn, right?

I'm hoping that August will be a little less busy. I haven't had much time to post or even read a lot of blogs here. I'm going through withdrawals! :P

(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!

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:

Oh my!

Today my boyfriend and I went out after we got off work. Amazingly we both got off at the same time even though we were both scheduled to work later than we did. We were scheduled to 6 and got off at 5.

So we had dinner out- or at least, I had dinner out. Boyfriend didn't eat so I couldn't pawn the bill on him- though he did eat a few of my french fries and I still maintain he needs to reimburse me for that. :P

Then we looked around Whole Foods. I don't think I've ever been in there before today. They have a lot of stuff and an amazing collection of just about everything. I was pleasantly surprised. I joked to boyfriend that Whole Foods is kind of like an amusement park because the one near us has a restaurant and a buffet. I won't be shopping there regularly because the prices are high, but I'd be happy to go back for some things.

Anyway, while at Whole Foods I found rechargeable batteries. I decided to pick up a pack. It came with 4 AA, 4 AAA, and the charger for $16 + tax. I was inspired to get this because of a thread on the forum. I don't remember which one, but someone mentioned rechargeable batteries.

Then we wandered over to Target because we didn't want to go home. While looking around we pointed out things we would like to get over the next few months for our home. We ended up buying a Brita water pitcher. We're not going to be buying a lot of stuff new. We agreed bedding will be bought new but everything else will be bought used when possible. We still need to buy a bed and I'm a little nervous about how much that will cost.

After we got home I checked half.com- and discovered I made another sale! Woo-hoo! Another $3.91.

This brings my new total for the month to $13.35.

Sigh.

Of course, when I have no more spending money I want to go shopping. There's nothing in particular I want to buy but I just want to shop. Tiffany & Co. is a terrible website to check out when you have no money to spend. Not that I would buy much from Tiffany- the prices are unbelievable! They had some really nice stuff though.

I've been upset the past few days. A few days ago would have been my parents' 23rd wedding anniversary. And the fight boyfriend and I had the other day didn't help my mood. Today was a pretty good day though.

I have to get my hair trimmed tomorrow. I've been putting it off for the last... 6 or 8 months now. Lol. What's prompting me to finally do it is my hair turned green. One word: chlorine. Fortunately it is mostly the tips of my hair that turned green. So I'll go to the hair cut place tomorrow and get a trim. I don't want to show up at work with green hair.

I'm also going to try to get my car smog-ed and registered tomorrow. If not tomorrow then definitely Monday.

Not much else to report on... 20 more days until we can move in. Though moving will be tricky to arrange with my work and school schedule, boyfriend's work schedule and his brother's (who will be helping us to move) schedule.

Listing all those books finally paid off. I sold two yesterday evening to the same person.

After commission I made $5.96. It will cost $2.77 to ship plus another $1 for the package... so I'm looking at about a $2 profit. I'll take anything.

Boyfriend and I had a huge fight last night. We're ok now but last night was not fun. After we made up we went to Dairy Queen and got ice cream. The fight started because last night I had so much homework and couldn't make dinner or do the chores so I asked him to come right home from work to help me. He got upset because he wanted to spend time with his friends. Ironically, the time we spent fighting and then getting ice cream took more time than the cooking and cleaning would have taken.

I'm going to be so happy to have my dad back home and me be able to move out. I love my brother, but he is causing a lot of stress between my boyfriend and I. My grandma has said that if I wanted to move into my apartment officially before my dad comes home she can stay with my brother until dad gets here. I am seriously considering doing that.

Speaking of moving, we are getting a sleeper sofa from boyfriend's parents. They have also offered us an entertainment center but I don't think we are going to take that- it is really big. They are still undecided about the book case but that's fine.

Has anyone been experiencing problems with SA lately? SA and the blogs haven't been loading properly the past couple days. Earlier I tried to make a blog and every time I clicked on "New Entry" I kept getting an error. I also couldn't read comments on others' blogs. And the forums have been loading weird too.

I finished the essay. It took a lot of coercing to get me to actually sit down and do it, but between my numerous breaks I actually got a lot done. Honestly, I rarely procrastinate this much. But this assignment... maybe because it is summer.

I have made a decision about my future apartment: no plastic! I try to be as green as possible (cloth pads/towels/napkins, those light bulbs, etc.). I refuse to buy anything new that is plastic, but I would be willing to buy something used that is plastic. My dad and grandma have been handing us old kitchen supplies they no longer need. As time goes on we'll slowly replace things.

We are getting a lot of furniture too:
1. Recliner from my grandma
2. Dresser from my grandma
3. Writing desk that will be used as a dinning room table from my grandma
4. Possibly a sleeper sofa from boyfriend's mom
5. Possibly a bookcase from boyfriend's mom
6. Coffee table from my grandma

The bookcase will need to be repainted. I think a pale yellow would be good. Boyfriend and I have decided to go for "French Country" theme in the apartment.

Boyfriend and I have decided that we will combine finances when we move into our apartment. We'll get a joint checking account and all of our paychecks will be going directly into that account. At the end of the month we will split whatever is left between us to put into our savings. I know it would be better to save money first, but I'm not sure how much we'll have leftover each month for savings.

We're going to try this for a couple months and see how it goes. If there aren't any problems we'll keep with it. If there are we'll figure something out. We haven't decided if we will keep track of our spending. The main thing we have to worry about is keeping grocery costs low.

I have so much to do tomorrow:
1. Stop by lawyer office
2. Classes
3. Possibly sign lease- I need to find out when we have to sign it and they haven't called me back
4. Drop my car at mechanics (they are closed on the weekends)
5. Grocery shopping
6. More homework

I haven't even had the chance to make a menu for the week and the grocery list for tomorrow.

Yay!

Yesterday my boyfriend and I went to look at an apartment. There were only three one bedrooms left, and only one on the third floor. So we took it.

I gave them $50 for the application fee, $99 for part of the deposit. We turned in the applications today and we'll find out Monday if we got it! I'm so excited and a little nervous. If need be my dad could sign for us. Hopefully he won't have to.

Arrgh. The wait is horrible. I keep thinking I might have left something out.

When we the apartment we will pay another $150 for rest of the deposit when we move in. Move in date is July 1st.

Yesterday I got a letter I put in the mail back. It was a bill. I put a 42 cent postage on it and it was returned because I needed another 2 cents in postage. Was postage raised? Weird thing is none of the other bills were returned.

When I need to deposit money I usually go into the bank. Today the line was really long so I decided to use the ATM to deposit money.

I confused myself greatly! I didn't realize I need to put the cash in an envelope (I swear the ATM didn't say!) so I tried inserting the bills. But the ATM wouldn't take the bills. And then I forgot to write on the envelope how much cash was in it (after I figured out there were envelopes) and so it spit the envelope out. I went back to my car to fetch a pen and wrote the wrong amount on the envelope. Sigh. Oh well, the correct amount went into my checking anyway. I think I'm going to stick with going inside from now.

Boyfriend and I went mountain biking today. We cut it short as I'm really sore from work the other night.

In the middle of the night my cat decided to knock over a shelving unit (it's on wheels and has fabric drawers). She likes to sleep in the drawers because that's where we keep our PJs. It caused a very loud sound. Not a fun way to be woken up at 1 in the morning.

Boyfriend announced to his family the other day that we will be moving in together later this summer. It went surprisingly well he said. They didn't seem upset but at the same time not really happy either. I'll take that as a win- they've never been really fond of me and the past few months things have just gotten worse between his family and I. I think this is a good sign though.

Ok, prepare for a mushy moment!

Last night when I got home from work my boyfriend surprised me by buying me some roses.

His reason? Just because!





Ok, no more mushy moments for while. I promise.

My grandma just informed me that she owes me $85 from the deposit we got back on our apartment. She says she didn't give me the full amount when we got the deposit back and has been meaning to give me the money ever since but keeps forgetting. I honestly don't remember this but she's insisting and I'm not going to refuse $85 (not that I can refuse either- once she makes up her mind, that is it!).

I work tomorrow and Saturday. I'm glad that things are starting to pick up.

I think...

That I am depressed. Actually I'm pretty sure of it.

Yesterday was a terrible day. I had a fight with my boyfriend and I started it. I threw a fit over something minor. I was really upset about stuff that had happened earlier in the day and everything just accumulated and BOOM!

Yesterday wasn't the first time I got upset over something small. Lately I've been feeling unmotivated and really insecure and minor things have been upsetting me lately. I've been feeling lonely and haven't been wanting to go out.

So tomorrow I will be calling a psychiatrist.

It's true!

Last night I had a terrible nightmare and SA was involved! I dreamed that I was talking to the SA forum while I was being chased by someone in a pickup truck. I've never had a dream before where I was being chased and this one was very scary! Boyfriend tried to wake me and I ended up screaming very loudly when he tried to touch me (still asleep at the time). Needless to say I didn't sleep well after that nightmare.

Boyfriend and I were planning on going on a day trip to the capital today but decided against it. Instead we plan on watching movies and playing chess in the park. Later we'll have to go to the gym as it has been several days since we've gone (almost a week unfortunately...). It'll be a frugal day today.

I bought a small carpet cleaner today because I was tired of having small spots on the carpet. The carpet spray that we have isn't working well and I wanted to get rid of the spots.

I got a lot of the stains out, but I think I also created some stains when I accidently spilled the dirty water on the floor. And this is why they tell you to open it over a sink.

We had to take one of my kitties (the one who was in the dryer some posts back) to the vet today. She has been throwing up the past few weeks so I made an appointment to have her see the vet (actually, this throwing up is the reason I bought the carpet cleaner- she threw up today and the spray didn't get it all out). The vet did some blood tests and said one of her white blood cell counts was a little high. He thinks it might be an anti-inflammatory infection.. so he gave her a shot and told us to call in a week. Vet visit was $200 but well worth it.

Do you think cats need to be in a pet carrier when traveling short distances in the car? I don't have a pet carrier for my cats. The vet is a ten minute drive from my place and that's the farthest they go in the car. Both cats stay relatively still while in the car. They sit on the passenger seat (sometimes in the lap of my passenger) and meow at me. They don't like to move around the car. At the vet today, while waiting in the lobby, my cat sat in my lap and looked at the other animals. The vet staff didn't care that she wasn't in a carrier but one lady made a rather rude comment about it. My cat wasn't bothering anyone and wasn't climbing on the furniture. I guess I don't see what the big deal is.

I work on Sunday. It doesn't sound like it will be a long party though. I am crossing my fingers that next week is busier.

I tried a few new recipes last week. Most turned out pretty good but I didn't cook the salmon right the first time. Oh well. I'll try the recipe again in a couple weeks when I go through the rest of recipes I want to try.

The other week I bought a video game called "Wedding Designer" for the Nintendo DS. It is a really stupid game. I can't bring it back because I bought it new (I know, I know) so I will sell it on half.com. I hope I can get a good price for it.

If the companies won't tell me?

I've been looking at prices for internet/cable/phone and am really confused. I don't want a lot of cable, just a simple package, but I need to bundle that with internet. However all I can find on the companies' websites are the introductory rates. Not the actual rate.

Very annoying.

I talked to my dad again and he will definitely be moving here in August/September unless something huge happens (i.e. medical bill wipes out our savings, etc.). I know it is 4 months off but already I'm preparing for it. I'm getting excited!

My boyfriend and I have been going over apartments and we found several that are cheap. One is in an iffy neighborhood, but the rest are in good areas. One apartment is $565/month with all utilities included (they didn't specify internet, but that won't be more than $40/month). Another is $450/month with water and garbage paid.

My dad offered to give us $500/month to help us if we need it, but I'm not sure if we'll take it. We should be able to pay for everything with just our income. And my boyfriend has more in savings than I do. So we should be ok. But it is nice knowing I can ask my dad for help if something happens.

I hope everyone had a good Easter! Boyfriend and I went to a morning mass and then nothing. He had a test he needed to study for so I've been puttering around the house. Did some cleaning and then bought cupcakes for my friend that just moved into her apartment. A boring, yet peaceful, day.

Before my mom died I was sharing an apartment with my grandmother. The lease for the apartment was supposed to end this month. At this time, my boyfriend and I were going to get our own place.

Obviously that changed. After my mom's death I moved into my dad's place to help look after my younger brother. My dad's job is, unfortunately, in another state. He couldn't find a job in state that paid well (most were under $50,000/year and the job he has now is almost 3 times that). He comes home every 3 or 4 weeks.

The other day my dad announced that he might be coming home at the end of August/ first of September for awhile. He said if his job is not up by then he will quit and stay home for my brother's senior year of HS (brother is currently a junior).

At this time, I will be moving out.

I want to be excited, I really do, but I am a little hesitant.

I am worried about what would happen if my dad doesn't find a job at the end of the school year. He currently has almost a year's worth of expenses and will have more by the end of the summer. I think he is thinking of selling the condo when my brother graduates but I'm not sure.

BUT

I think it is more important that my dad be here. At some point money just isn't as important as family.

Soo... I am going to begin preparing for the chance that I do move out in August/September. I was planning on opening a 529 after I met my savings goal, but I think it is more important to add even more to my savings. I will open a 529, but I'll probably delay it by a couple months.

One of the upsides is that I don't have to worry about getting a lot of stuff for an apartment. I will need to get some sort of sofa or futon for the living room, but that's the biggest thing I have to get. I will scout thrift stores (we have some pretty good thrift stores here) when the time comes.

Sigh. I don't even know if this will happen for sure. It is a possibility, but not set in stone. We'll find out in a few months.

Tonight was unusually cheap for us. We have a couple date nights a month where we usually go out to dinner and then a movie, or a show, or something.

Tonight was date night and we decided to do something different. We made dinner at home (chicken and asparagus and a salad) and then rented a movie for free (some special program my boyfriend signed up for video games). We also went to the local park and played on the swing set and jungle gym.

We rented "Made of Honor" and after we watched that we watched "Blazing Saddles" (which we already had).

Sunday is technically payday but because it is a Sunday the paychecks will be available on Monday. I'm not expecting it to be more than $100.

Tomorrow and Sunday is the annual Women's Expo. I've never been so my boyfriend, friend, her mom, and myself will be going tomorrow. I'm looking forward to it. In the morning there will be a talk given on finances that I want to hear. So my boyfriend and I will be getting there a couple hours before my friend. I'll report tomorrow what the talk was on.

I have always hated cooking. Didn't like it one bit. But lately I've been forcing myself to try more recipes and I'm starting to like it more.

It helps that I've been getting better at it too. I especially like baking. So my cooking goal is to try at least one new dish a week. It can be an appetizer, salad, etc. Something. I'm currently looking at a couple cook books trying to decide what to try based on what we have. I don't mind having to buy a couple ingredients, but we have so much food supplies that I don't want to buy a lot more.

Today was a pretty good day. Boyfriend and I got a lot of de-cluttering done today. We took some things to the storage unit and did some cleaning. In the evening our friend that is moving into our complex with her boyfriend came by and we went to get cupcakes. Then we went to their new apartment.

So a week-ish ago I lost two very important things: my car keys and two checks totaling $280.

Over the past week I have torn my house upside down and couldn't find either. I gave up the search two days ago and resigned myself to having lost those items.

Today I found my car keys. YAY! This gives me hope that I will find the checks. The car keys were in my coat pocket. So tomorrow the search will continue for the checks, but I will be searching all coat pockets and purses too.

Boyfriend celebrated his 21st birthday yesterday. I ended up babysitting (and driving around) four drunk guys. None of them got drunk enough to where they were passing out or throwing up, but they were definitely not able to drive. Boyfriend becomes a happy, and very honest, tipsy man. I don't think I can count the number of times he said "I loooooove you".

So my boyfriend let slip a vital piece of information last night... one that he had been keeping to himself and hadn't told anybody, including his best friend. I am hesitant to mention it as I don't want to jinx it, but let's just say that if he does as he said, we will be starting a wedding fund in the next few months.

My girlfriends and I hung out today. We played a game called rummikub. It was a fun game, but frustrating. We did some window shopping afterwards. One of my friends is moving in with her boyfriend into their first apartment and wanted to look for furniture.

Well I am not working this weekend which is both good and bad. Bad because it means I don't make money, good because I can spend my boyfriend's birthday with him.

Which brings me to a problem... I have no idea what to get him. He says video games or something from a certain store, but there are problems with his suggestions. First, I don't know what video games he likes. And I feel weird getting him a gift card. Second, the store he mentioned doesn't exist! I looked in the yellow pages, googled the name with our city following, and I called 411. NOTHING! I even tried variations of the name but all I got were restaurants.

Friday is payday which makes me happy. I can't wait to see how much I can put into my savings.

I skipped out on you guys for a few days just to keep you on your toes.

:P

Actually, there have been some problems with boyfriend's mom. I have been hesitant to post about it but I am getting sooo frustrated with the situation and I don't want to put my boyfriend in the middle even more than he already is.

The problem *seems* to be that our personalities just don't mesh well. I rub off on her the wrong way and visa versa. It also really doesn't help that I am the first girlfriend she has had to deal with. This is unchartered territory for her.

Boyfriend thinks mostly it is that I am such an independent person that bothers her. I have always been this way- my parents said even was I was just a few years old I was always very independent. I don't get why this is an issue, but apparently it is.

And she wants me to fix everything, but I don't know what to do. She won't talk to me and the times we do talk about what is going on, she just tells me that she knows we are both stressed and everything will be ok. So how am I supposed to fix what is going on if I can't get a straight answer?

Le sigh.

So last night I totally forgot that I didn't have school today because of spring break and I started to do my homework. I was working on Diff. Equ. and finally got so frustrated with it that I threw my pencil down, threw my hands in the air, and said "Pfffffttt." My boyfriend then asks me why I was doing homework when it was spring break.

My reply? "I forgot that it is spring break. Why didn't you tell me sooner?" paired with an evil glare.

His reply? "I dunno."

He just likes to see me suffer.

Work was interesting on Saturday. I forgot to call and get my schedule today so tomorrow I will call them.

Boyfriend and I did some window shopping today. It was a lot of fun walking around town with him and looking at everything in the stores. All we bought was lunch (I think it was about $10). Wednesday I am having lunch with friends and Thursday boyfriend and I may be going to spend the day at the lake. Maybe. I haven't decided if I actually want to go.

I wish boyfriend was here right now. I really just want to watch a movie or something with him. I need to relax somehow.

Everybody, jump for joy!

Jump! Jump!

The kitchen is done! It took 6 weeks, but it is DONE! Yay! The countertops were put in today and we have a working sink and everything is all good.

Now comes the fun part: putting everything back in place and cleaning. Actually that won't be so bad. I put everything into boxes labelled with where the stuff goes so it should go by quickly (me? organized? who would have thunk it?).

Boyfriend's 21st birthday is a week from tomorrow (we are exactly two weeks apart). I still don't know what to get him. He's not telling me what he wants so I haven't got a clue. I am going to head to Walmart sometime this week (probably Monday because it is spring break. Yay!) to look for ideas. He likes video games and Dungeons & Dragons but he says he has all the D&D stuff and video games he wants. Until, of course, the next game comes out.

The interest on my IRA is accumulating so slowly. It is March 13th, I have more in my IRA now than in January, and yet I have only earned 3 cents in interest so far. It is frustrating. Not much i can do about it though. (I'm pretty sure I said the same thing last month. Hmm.)

We heard from the Social Security Administration. My brother will be getting about $500/month from SS. My brother wants to save most of it but we'll probably give him $100/month to spend as he pleases. Not that he has much to spend his money on. I'm trying to convince him he should give me the money and I'll "take care of it". He's too smart though.

My boyfriend has seen the following movies with me:

1. 1776
2. Beauty and the Beast
3. Breakfast at Tiffany's

In case he asks you, remind him that he has seen the above movies with me. He disagrees with me, but I know he has seen the aforementioned movies. I even remember conversations we had about the movies!

Jeesh.

[PS. I am writing this post because he asked me if I wanted to watch a movie. I said we could watch Breakfast at Tiffany's again and he said he hasn't seen and that sparked a friendly argument about this. And, of course, I get the last word. Hehe.]

So a quick run down of everything:

Work: This upcoming week I work 2 days: Friday and Saturday. Saturday will be easy, but Friday I am worried about. It is a good sized party (90), and they will be given a menu to choose from (if they want to order). They will mostly be drinking. I do not like parties where they can order food. I do not like actually serving. I almost always mess up. But, because they will be drinking, they will tip more. The only tips we get from this banquet will be any cash tips we receive.

Condo: Carpet repair men will be coming tomorrow. My boyfriend, brother, and myself just finished moving the dining room table, chairs, and hutch (for the third time!) out of the dining room. After they are done (hopefully it is a one day job!), all that is left is finishing the counters.

And just as one problem is wrapping up, another one begins. I think I need to call the washer repairman down to look at the washer machine. It is making funny noises during the spin cycle, so I think something might have become loose. I looked in the washer and felt around (it is a top loader), but didn't feel anything loose.

Everything else: (I'm too lazy to think of different categories.) I completely forgot to make an appointment with my advisor so I really need to do that tomorrow. I believe within the next month registration will begin, but I am not certain.

I went grocery shopping and forgot to buy sunscreen for the second time. I wear it every day but ran out about 1.5 weeks ago. Must remember to buy it on way to school tomorrow!

I hate wallets. I have been using a Coach mini skinny that I bought a few months ago as my wallet. It fits my cards and my car keys and is small enough to fit in just about every purse. But, when my boyfriend gave me a wallet for my birthday I decided to use it. It is a very pretty, albeit bulky, wallet. Today I wanted to use a small purse so I move my wallet into the purse and the wallet takes up the entire inside of the purse! Argh. Not wanting to completely change my wallet, I took out my ID, cash, and debit card and put that in the purse.

Yep, tomorrow I turn 20! Yay!

Today my boyfriend and I went shopping as I needed more work clothes. Didn't find what I was looking for so sometime next week I'll go to a couple different stores.

My boyfriend gave me my present today, which was a really pretty red cardigan, a pink leather wallet, and some perfume. We also went out for lunch today and got some chocolate cake.

The floor guy is coming on Monday to replace the dining room carpet and to put in the linoleum in the pantry. I have no idea how long it will take, but I am keeping my fingers crossed that it is only a day or two. The company that is doing the countertops is having trouble finding the same color granite as our existing counters, so that might take an extra few days.

The interest on my IRA is still coming in very slow. But at least I am making some money, right?

I looked over my older posts and figured out something interesting. It took me nearly 17 months to save the first $1,000 in my IRA. However, since then it has only taken me 5 months to save another $700, and I'll probably be able to save the other $300 (and giving me my second $1,000 in my IRA) in the next few months. I'm getting better at this.

I don't know if I mentioned this in my previous post, but tomorrow I am working. And the banquet that I am working is a 90th birthday party. It highly amused me that on my birthday I am working a birthday party.

So yesterday I really buckled down and got most of the laundry done. There was only one load left (a blanket) that needed to be done so I decided to do that today after my classes.

I take the clothes out of the dryer (too lazy to do that this morning) and take less than a minute to put them away. I go back to the dryer and washer to put the blanket in and guess what I find in my dryer?



My cat!

She looks kind of mad in this photo, but she is normally very sweet.

I am so happy. I found what I was looking for! I have been looking for a way to organize my purses and accessories and I found those interlocking cubes (like this one: http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=3579668) for pretty cheap. I ordered two sets of four (not from Walmart though) and they should be arriving in a week or so. I used to have a few of these when I was a kid. I remember keeping my barbies and dolls and other toys in them.

Tomorrow is payday but I don't think I will pick up my check tomorrow. I work Saturday so I will most likely get it then.