Happy Valentines Day!

Hello again everyone. I caught the motivation to blog again so I didn't want to let it go.

Everything is pretty steady in my life right now, but I have a lot going on. In late November I decided that I would like to earn some extra money to pay off debt and save, so I quickly picked up a paper route, surprising myself and everyone around me. It took me a couple weeks of nervousness, dread and sleepless nights to get used to it, but it's been about two and a half months now and I don't even have to look at the map! My positive points for doing it include:

• I will be debt free by next December if I continue to do it until then and put everything I earn from it towards that debt.
• I get the lost exercise I missed when the weather turned cold and I opted out of running in the evenings.
• Friends and family get a kick out of my "I accidentally hit their door and ran" stories.
• Eric helps me on the weekends and Wednesdays, which in turn helps him as he's lost hours at his daily job.
• If I continue to do it even after I'm debt free, I have my mind set on nice deposits into the IRA and new kitchen appliances for a future house. :)

So from 3:15 am - 5:15 am on a normal weekday, I am slinging newspapers and daydreaming about living in one of the houses I deliver to. After this, I come home and take a power nap before I get up and get ready for my real job at the bank, which I still enjoy going to. We are still not as busy as we could be and haven't started advertising to the general public, but I do believe that the branch we work at will be able to go the distance and represent as a reputable full service bank.

When I get home from my day job, I almost always check my school stuff online, which is the best thing ever for a student who wants to work full time. It's not for everyone, but I've found a good niche with it. I'm taking US History to 1877 and Personal Health & Wellness. I can't wait to get into some of my core Psychology classes though. May will bring Physical Science and in June is Business Law I.

Other than that, I like to catch up on my TV shows on the weekend, thanks to Hulu and YouTube. I still find time to play the Nintendo DS every now and then and go on a cleaning/organizing spree through the apartment. Mom and Dad buying a house will also make things interesting and Eric & I are planning on going to help sometime around or after the closing. Grandma Berner's birthday is coming up on the 2nd also and we'll have to plan something special for that.

As for an update on Eric, he is still at the same job doing data entry for Immigration. We both would like to see him leave as soon as possible, but due to the nature of the job, he has had hand/wrist, back and neck pain for a good three years now. He's seen a chiropractor and another specialist, but is waiting to hear back on a Workman's Comp claim that will allow him to see an orthopedist. I'm not exactly sure what they can do, but we're hoping for a miracle. I think this is his biggest worry because he is anxious to get on with his life that includes going back to school, finding a job he can be happy in and just continuing to enjoy his hobbies. To be completely honest, I am ready to get married, but he is the one in charge of the proposal and apparently it is in the works so I can't say much more. :)

I also had the pleasure of seeing Jason while he was in town a couple weeks ago. He was here for his job again and called me up. We had a great time over a few drinks with some friends of mine and friends of his. I also send and receive text messages with Staci every now and then, but need to make a point to go visit as she is not that far away!

Hope everyone is well and keeping busy. Auf Wiedersehen!

February Notes...

Happy 8th of February!


I still have intentions of writing notes and sending Christmas cards (whether or not that happens remains to be seen...) but we have news that will not wait and I wanted to share...

We bought a washer and dryer a week ago last Thursday. The best part is the house that came with it!

After discussions and the decision that we could stick it out in the apartment another year or so, no big deal, no hurry, don't need to look for anything different...I opened the newspaper the second Wednesday in January and there it was. Not exactly love at first sight, after all, it wasn't in the country, or even on the edge of town, but the location was good (kindof an inside out block with four little roundabouts and lots of trees and far enough away from the schools) and all the appliances were included for sale by owner. Ok, one of the best things about the computer is reverse look-up on superpages, so I find out whose it is and call them. I went and looked the next day, we both went and looked the next, next day, we took Mom and Dad to look the next, next, next day and walked away from it pretty sure that the other couple that was looking was going to snatch it up. Exit Mom, Dad and I to Rochester (more on that later). After we got home my curiosity got the better of me and I called to see what had developed. I was surprised to hear that the other guys had made an offer that the owner was going to accept, then the next day they called to say they had changed their mind. Oh boy. Another round of mortgage calculators and lots of figuring and laying awake at night and we decided we could do it for about the same expense as what we're paying in rent.

So we made an offer, accepted the counter and signed the purchase agreement. Whew! The closing date is set for the 24th, but will be able to do it as soon as the bank says the word.



(Wow, I got the picture, not in the spot where I wanted it, but I did it! See above.)

This is all pretty exciting. It's not a huge house and it doesn't have some of the things on my "master list" (like a basement) but the rooms are good sized and it just felt right. We just went up a little bit ago and wandered around outside and I think it will be great. I really don't think that one's living arrangements defines the person, but even thinking about having a house kindof gives you a sense of purpose. Makes me wonder what I've spent the last year doing??? Can't wait to paint and pound holes in walls and move light fixtures and plug ins and open boxes and put books on shelves and plant bushes and do dishes with a window in front of me!! (Do dishes? Did I really say "do dishes"?)



So it's good-bye having to punch in a door code, having to open the mailbox with a key, and waiting for the girl down the hall to take her clothes out of the dryer. Good-bye little girls upstairs who, while they are cute as can be, land like elephants. Good-bye overstuffed dumpster. Good-bye miniscule kitchen. My conclusion: apartments are great places when you are 20 something.

It's red brick in the front, circa 1947 and hasn't been updated much, but it has a fun little cubby in the front hall for the telephone? a statue?, two bedrooms, one bathroom, two fireplaces (who would think?), and my favorite parts...no ceiling fans, switched outlets and painted kitchen cupboards. The summertime picture shows the front covered with ivy and there's rose bushes in the back and lots of windows. There's only one garage, probably the biggest drawback, but think it'll be ok. There's two built in cabinets, one in the living room and one in the dining room, and lots of room for bookcases! It has only had one owner and the lady who lived there moved to assisted living in September. She has the same birthday as Grandma Harmon and will turn 104 this year. It must have a good aura!

Mom is feeling better after the doctors at Mayo Clinic established that her pain is a result of deterioration in her knees and possibly some from bone spurs and nerve damage from old surgeries. She was afraid that they were going to recommend another surgery, so was relieved to receive shots in both knees and prescriptions for physical therapy and exercise! She is seeming more like her old self the last couple weeks (we were there Jan. 18), has even been driving around town which she hadn't done for quite a while.



So after it is officially official, I have always wanted to send out those neat little new address cards, watch your mailboxes! And you are all invited to come visit!

Right now, I'm off to pack some boxes, I think that February is going to seem awfully short. Not having unpacked much over the last year has given us a jump on things though.

Love to all, Suz