Too Long Between Posts

How have you been? I would probably know if I had been paying attention in the cyber-world lately, but I can't change the fact that I haven't been up-to-par on the whole blogging thing. I got an email from Joe (thanks for the prodding) that pointed out my absence.

How have I been? Decent. Life is going pretty well right now. I don't have any complaints, other than the fact we're stuck in the dead of winter right now and it's cold outside. Now, anything over 20 degrees is beautiful. Seriously. Above zero, still good. But it is -7 degrees Farenheit outside right now, and that's without the wind. Add in windchill and you get the feeling of 1,000 razorblades slicing up any exposed skin. I don't know how to make the site show the equivalent temperature for those who use Celcius. I just know that Farenheit and Celcius meet at -40 degrees and with windchill, we've been there. It is rather nice though when it is 30 degrees and snowing. It's quite beautiful.

These are old, but here are some snow pictures I took in December:





I do love the snow, even when it involves digging my car out of a pile of white. I don't think I could live somewhere without snow or even the changing of the seasons. I thrive on the changes of the year and really do enjoy the differences of spring, summer, autumn, and winter.

Since I last wrote, I've taken almost a full course at college. Tomorrow is actually my last day of class. With this one out of the way, I'm two courses away from graduating and soon I'll be able to use the words college and graduate in the same sentence. Right now, I still lack the ability and every time I try to indicate the end result of my long-term goal, it comes out, "I'm a ca-co-lagegeee ga-gadurate." One of these days I'll be able speak the phrase with pride.

Speaking of my upcoming graduation, I think I'm going to have a party. Well, that is if I buy a house. I have a timeline for events to purchase my first home, but that timeline includes waiting until March to call for a pre-approval. I'm going to see then how feasible this dream is. I like the fact that houses are dropping in value, which makes it more affordable for me. I also like the fact that the prime rate was dropped twice in the last month (good for work and personal life), but I'm scared of where our economy is and where it is going.

But I need a house. That sounds silly, because sure, I don't "need" it. But I want a house. I want a house for many reasons. My car is getting old (not that old, but it's not new anymore) and I'd like to have a garage for cold winter days. I want to have a fenced in backyard (even a little one) so that I can have a puppy. I want to have a washer and dryer on the same property because lugging laundry around is a hassle. I want a basement with a big room for scrapbooking where I can put everything in its place. I want room in my living room to put in an exercise bike to lose the pounds I gained when I became a supervisor and stopped running around our call center for four hours a night. I want the freedom to paint the walls any color I desire (and I think bold colors are awesome). I want to plant flowers in the backyard to take pictures. I want to be able to grocery shop without it becoming an ordeal to haul the bags from my parking spot halfway across the parking lot up the stairs and down the hall to my refrigerator. I want room to invite friends over for a night and maybe have a bonfire pit in the backyard.

I don't want a big house, but something that I can call mine. And the biggest thing that I want is to stop throwing money away each month on rent and build up equity.

What else is going on with me? Not too much. School takes up a lot of time. But I still get out and see friends. I go to my mom's every Monday for dinner, to play with Chip, and socialize. We have a good time. Chip is getting older, which bothers me, but he is still cute and still a loving member of our family. Smoke is the youngest of the pets at Mom's and he's anti-social. But he is getting better with company. I tend to pull out his toys when I'm there and have spent time petting him (much to my discomfort - I think I'm slightly allergic to cats). Mom told me that Scott's friends (family? I'm not sure) came over and said, "Oh, the other cat is here!" Smoke usually doesn't even make appearances for company. But he is getting better. Being in my mom's home will do that to an animal.

Work is pretty good. Problems from before are minimized and not in my immediate focus any longer. My team is doing fairly well and the feeling of "team" is very strong. This time of year is busier for the bankers, but not so much for me. I have been able to devote much more of my time towards coaching than when I have to write reviews, etc. As much as work is going well, I am looking forward to a long weekend (starting Thursday) and eleven days off in a row in March. DM's birthday is approaching and I've taken a week off to celebrate it with her. We'll go to Manny's and the opera during that time, but we're also considering a roadtrip to Canada. We both want to see Kakabeka Falls frozen. The only thing that really makes me question this idea is the fact that we'd be driving through northern Minnesota in one of the heaviest snowfall times of the year. But we'd follow the highway for most of the trip and then drive along Lake Superior for another big portion. The lake effect may help regulate the weather. We'll see how the weather is and then make a decision.

But I want to get out and try out my newest toy. For Christmas, my mom gave me a telephoto lens for my DSLR camera. I'm excited to see what it can do. Plus, I need new pictures!

So, I'm sorry that I don't post often or get around to everyone's sites. I know I sound like a broken record and I really wanted to improve in 2008 with blogging. I miss it. I do. I miss everyone and knowing what is going on in everyone's lives. Everything is pretty good here, but I just don't have a lot of news. I think that's part of the problem with blogging. There's no karaoke on Sundays (so no funny stories), I can't write about work much, and life is good. I'm busier with school and have more weekly routines for my social life (after work), so I'm not home as much. I also find myself a little sick of the computer by the time I get home.

But it will get better. I don't know when, but it will. Until then, I'm lurking. I hope all is well with everyone and I am sorry again.