I really need to sit down and figure what it is that I want in several aspects of my life. Some aspects only need minor tweaks … motivation I guess. While other aspects need a major overhaul.

It all comes down to: what will make me happy (or at least content)?

Some of the small stuff is just a case of making myself make the changes that are needed … pushing myself forward. The other stuff … well that’s a completely different story.

I know that I need to make the change. But I’m scared to make that change. Making that change will completely upset my life as it currently is. And now is not the time that I want to do that. But then again, who ever wants to change a major aspect of their life?

Where do I even begin? I guess I could start with pro and con lists. That would be somewhere. And if the cons don’t outweigh the pros, then maybe now really isn’t the time to make the change. But if the cons DO outweigh the pros, then I need to suck it up and make the change, no matter how much it would freak me out. I just don’t think I can keep going on like this for much longer. If I can’t change the aspect as a whole, then I need to tweak some parts of it. Anything to make myself less unhappy.

As of 12:54 pm CDT this afternoon, I no longer have any credit card debt. Of course, since it’s the weekend and tomorrow is a holiday, the payment won’t clear for a few more days. But for all I care, it’s all gone. Boy does that feel good.

It only took me 13 years to pay it off. LOL I opened both accounts in early 1995 (during first year of college - second half of the year). Of course, those first several years (especially while I was in college) was where the debt got racked up to. It never got completely out of control. But it did grow more than it receded.

Several years ago is when I decided to start sending more than the minimum payment. I tried to get a loan to pay both cards off, but at the time, my debt to income ratio was too high, and I couldn’t get a loan. So I forged ahead sending as much money each month as I could. Over the past few years, I’ve been able to send more and more (thanks to raises). For the past 2 years or so, I’ve been sending from $200 to $350 to get the balances down quicker. I paid off my Discover Card in April of this year. So that meant I could send more to the Visa. And with that payment just before 1pm, the Visa now has a balance of $0. Such a good feeling. Now the only loan that I have is my student loan. And from what I’ve read, that’s a “good” debt to have, if debt can be called good.

My plan back when I started the larger payments was to cut up the Visa and cancel the account but keep the Discover for emergencies. But after reading some articles online and hearing advice on a few financial shows on TV, I’ve decided to keep both. I plan to use them every now and again and pay off the balance in full each month … probably putting gas on them. That way my credit report will show that I can manage my credit. Getting rid of one or both cards would damage my credit (at least that’s what I’ve been led to believe), and I don’t want that. Especially since it’s so good right now AND since I’m planning on buying a house within the next 14 months or so (hopefully ).

So, starting next month, that $350 that was going to the credit card will be going into my money market savings account (if not more than that). I’ll be putting money into my regular savings account as well. That way I’ll have some other money to use for furniture/appliances/repairs/etc once I get a house. I’m well on my way to becoming a home owner. Now to do more research so I know exactly what I’ll be getting myself in to.

I started something today that I really shouldn’t have. You see, I’m so sick of apartment living. I’ve been wanting to get into a house for quite some time now. Especially after my friend Robin bought a house a couple years ago (I think it’s been that long now). I thought it would take me forever to be able to get a house.

Even though I didn’t think it would be possible for quite some time, I opened a money market savings account on July 1st. My plan for this account is to earmark it specifically as a housing fund … to have enough in it to cover closing costs (for sure), down payment (if needed), and have money left over for any maintenance needed. As of today, I have $650.53 sitting in that account. I plan to put in another $100 out of my latest paycheck (before the end of this month). My goal is to have about $5000 in there when I start house hunting. Why that amount? Well, that’s what Robin told me she needed for closing costs. That’s all I really have to go off of at this point.

My credit card will be paid off in October. When that is done, my plan is to take the amount I’ve been sending to get it paid off and put that in the money market account. That’s another $350/month, at least. Since I’ve already been sending that amount to the credit card company and been adding at least $100 a month to the account (if not $100 out of each paycheck), I could probably be able to put more than $350/month in there, but that’s the lowest amount. So that’s what I’m basing my figures off of.

I decided to work up a spreadsheet this afternoon to help me figure out when I *might* be able to start house hunting. That’s what I was talking about at the beginning of this post that I shouldn’t have done. LOL If I follow my plan, then I’d hit my $5000 goal in October 2009. That’s only 14 months from now. Is it really possible that I could start house hunting that soon? I really thought it would take me 2 to 3 years before I’d be able to. After looking at the numbers, it really looks like it would be possible to start before that. That would be so awesome. I didn’t want to get my hopes up, but I think it’s already too late. LOL

I know that the housing market isn’t in all that great of shape lately. But I think my credit score is something that will help me out. When I got my free credit report (from AnnualCreditrReport.com) at the beginning of the month, I also got my FICO credit score (it was only $7.95). I was surprised to see the number. I guess it really does pay to pay your bills on time. So I think I would definitely be able to get a loan/mortgage. Just how much I’d be eligible for, I don’t know.

I think I’m going to start researching things now so I know how to plan. I’m sure I can find a ton of info online. And Robin mentioned that it would be a good idea if I took some first time home owners classes (I think that’s what it was). But I’m also wondering if anyone reading this has bought a home in the last year or so or is currently house hunting. Do you have any tips? Is there anything that I should do and anything I shouldn’t do?

I have over a year to plan and save. That seems like a long time away, but I have a feeling (or at least I hope) it’ll go by fast. I just want to have all my “ducks in a row” when the times does come. So any insight I get get would be appreciated.

I mentioned last Wednesday that my sister and I were going to the Jeff Dunham show at the Fargo Civic. I FINALLY got around to processing my pics and some of my videos and getting them online last nite.

The show was awesome. He actually had an opening act … “Guitar Guy”. I love guitar. And he was hilarious. But the main event was Jeff Dunham. He came onstage about 7:50pm or so and was on for about 2 hours. He had Walter, Achmed the Dead Terrorist, Peanut, José Jalapaño (on a steeeeeck), and Bubba J. I guess he’s going to be doing a Christmas special for Comedy Central. So he was doing some Christmas material.

I haven’t laughed that hard in a long time. I could tell Lisa enjoyed it too. I could hear her laughing just as much as I was. So I think she enjoyed her birthday present.

I took about 50 pics and 20 videos. Some of the videos are really short because the crowd around me started laughing, so I stopped recording since it was kinda loud. But I got a few good ones. You can find the videos here and the pictures here. Enjoy.

If you bug me about it, I might give a more in-depth review. You’ll just have to wait and see. But if you want one, you better leave a comment so I know it’s wanted.

One of my favorite comedians of all time is Jeff Dunham. He’s not a ‘traditional’ comedian, he’s a ventriloquist [thank goodness for spell check ... LOL]. I don’t remember exactly when I first saw him, but I was hooked from the start. I’ve seen his various tv specials too many times to count. I don’t care how many times I’ve seen one of them, I’ll sit and watch and laugh like it was the first time.

I’ve told myself that if he ever got close enough to see, I would go … no matter how much tickets cost. Well, back in April, I found out he was going to be at the Civic Center.

The show is tomorrow nite. I’m taking my sister with me. I got her hooked on him too. And her bday is next week, so the ticket is her bday present [how convenient for me :razz2:]. I can’t wait. The tickets I got are 8th row center, so we should have a pretty good view. I hope cameras are allowed. I wanna get some pics … and maybe sneak a video [shhhhhh]. According to his website, the show is sold out, so we’ll have to get there early. I need to remember to get cash so I can get souvenirs.

I’ll give a full review either after the show or on Friday.

We’ve had some pretty strong storms roll through the area over the past couple of days. Yesterday morning a pretty good one rolled through. It stayed south of Fargo, but did head toward Wahpeton. Apparently it was enough of a storm to make the tree in the backyard of my Grandma’s old house fall on the house. The house is a split level … my Grandma and one uncle used to live upstairs while another uncle lived downstairs.

Thank goodness my Grandma and uncles no longer live there (they just moved out recently). But still … to see the tree on the house … it just makes me sad.

The pic was scanned (by my sister … thanks Lisa) from the Wahpeton, ND paper, the Daily News.

Yesterday was a fairly full day. I went with Robin and Dannilynn to the MSUM celebration. That took up most of the afternoon. Then I came back home and chilled for a while. The Busch Nationwide Series race at Daytona was on, so I watched that (of course). Dale Jr was in it. And it was Daytona.

Around 9:45pm I headed over to Robin’s so we could go to watch the fireworks. We went last year, but Dannilynn was too young (2 months old) to enjoy them. This year she was actually awake and watching them. I did get some pics of the fireworks. They’re not the best. I used the fireworks setting on my camera. Here’s a preview:

I also got video of the finale. That was better than the pics.

Overall, I was NOT impressed by the fireworks this year. Last year just seemed better and longer. But then again, I think after seeing the show at the pyrotechnics convention in West Fargo … nothing else can compare to that. But it was good to get out of the apartment for a good chunk of the day. And to hang out with Robin and Dannilynn.

View full image on flickr
Originally uploaded by hightechredneckwoman

Robin, Dannilynn, and I went to the MSUM 4th of July festivities today. We went to the parade and then to the MSUM campus for some entertainment, food, booths, and other stuff.

I took a bunch of pics of Dannilynn at the parade since this was the first one she could really enjoy. She was at this one last year, but she was only 2 months old then. And she was at the West Fest parade last year, but she was still pretty little. She really seemed to enjoy it.

This pic just looks like she’s saying “What you talkin’ ’bout Willis?” It’s my favorite of the bunch.

We might go to watch the fireworks later tonite. It just depends on what kind of mood Dannilynn is in. If we do, I’ll try to take pics. I’ll post if they turn out good.

Today marks the 4 year anniversary of my new career path. I can’t believe it’s been 4 years already. I went from having a hobby of working on websites (and teaching myself) to working on them for a living. I’ve learned a lot in these past 4 years, and I’m still learning.

The last 4 years haven’t all been peachy. Back in September 2006 I was laid off. It wasn’t because of my work. It was a situation the company encountered. They basically laid off all but about 5 people, and they weren’t guaranteed a position for very much longer. But then about a month later, they offered me my position back. I was the only one they brought back. I’ve basically been with them ever since.

I say “basically” because the company no longer exists. The client that we had been working with hired myself and my boss at the beginning of this year. So I’m still doing the same thing, but my paychecks come from someone else now. And I’ve been working from home since the start of the year.

I definitely love what I do … making ideas come to life online. I do have my bad days, but I think that’s mainly because I work at home. I’m the kind of person who needs to get out of my apartment from time to time, so working from home makes me go batty some times. That’s why I wish there was a coworking location here. Maybe when I win the lottery I’ll set one up. I can dream, can’t I? LOL

While I do love what I’m doing, I’m starting to get more interested in other aspects of the web … namely social media. That’s kind of ironic since I am definitely NOT a social person. I’m the girl who sits in the corner watching people have fun. But I need to change that.

I have no immediate plan to change my career plan yet again. I’m going to keep doing what I’m doing. But I think that in my spare time I might start looking into the whole social media field. It might turn out that it’s not for me. But it doesn’t hurt to look into it. I’m at a point in my life where I feel like I need to get more involved with things. I’m not getting any younger. LOL I think that would help with the working from home thing and feeling like I’m trapped in my apartment.

Where will I be 4 years from today? Who knows. I would like to think that I will still be involved in some aspect of web programming. Maybe even in some other aspect of the web. But since I don’t have a crystal ball and since I can’t see the future, I have no idea where I will actually be. I just hope that wherever I am and whatever I’m doing, I’m happy. That’s all I want. To be happy.

View full image on flickr
Originally uploaded by hightechredneckwoman

Today has been a rather interesting day. Around noon, I went out on my balcony and saw smoke in the direction of the mall. It turns out there was a really big apartment fire a few blocks north and west of the mall. There’s no roof left on that building. Very scary.

Then while I was at Robin’s this afternoon, my Mom called to let me know that there was a severe storm headed toward town. Lots of wind when that went through. Branches everywhere.

Then shortly after I got home from Robin’s, around 7:30pm or so, we had another storm head toward town. This one had a tornado warning on it. It looked VERY nasty on radar. I took this pic as it approached town. It was the most impressive shelf/wall cloud I’ve seen in a while. I’ve got some more in my Flickr account.

Talk about a wild day. And YESTERDAY was Friday the 13th. LOL