Exhausted

On top of having one hellatious bout with respiratory crap, we finished cleaning the basement this weekend. We had stuff from my parents (who were both from the Depression Era, and saved EVERYTHING), my stuff, Fidget's stuff, our stuff, the boys' stuff...And some stuff that no one knew where it came from. Our trash can is full to over-flowing, our garage is full of stuff to donate and garbage that wouldn't fit in the can...But our basement is wonderfully cleaned out. Still a few odds and ends to find "homes" for, but we are basically done. Got rid of 3 filing cabinets and their contents, most of the stuff needing to be shredded is done, and we filled a couple of boxes of old (like from the 80s and 90s) checkbooks that were my parents to take out to a friend's farm to burn. There were no less than 4 HUGE barrels of toys and stuffed animals from when I was little...So little I didn't remember most of it. Boxes of my old report cards and school work. Why did we save that crap? The good news is, I think Fidget will be more selective about what she saves from the boys. Good Lord, did we have stuff.

We still have about 6 plastic bins full of "Keepsake" type items...Stuff that belonged to my parents that I'm not ready to get rid of yet. We got rid of about 25 bins of that stuff. Eventually (like after the holidays) we're going to go through those bins and try to have a couple of shadow boxes made, or something like that. I'm a believer in the idea that if I'm going to save something because it means something to me, it should be displayed, not kept in a box in my basement.

Last night our deck and side lawn looked like the Clampitts moved in with Sanford and Son. In addition to the donate boxes on part of the deck (wouldn't fit in the garage) and a HUGE mound of garbage on the other side of the deck (wouldn't fit anywhere else) we had our side lawn FULL of stuff with a nice little "Free" sign next to it. This morning there are only a few things left, and we'll leave them out there until tomorrow. If they're still there, we'll start calling Goodwill and places like that to see if we can get rid of them that way. We talked about having a garage sale in the Spring/Summer, but the sheer volume of stuff we were getting rid of put us off of that idea quickly. Having to park our vehicles outside during a Minnesota winter so that we could store all of it didn't appeal to either of us. Most of what we donate is tax-deductible, so we'll make a little that way. What's most important to us is that...All that stuff is no longer our problem.

I'm exhausted just thinking about everything we did this weekend. I still have to do my homework, including putting together a presentation for tomorrow. But I can't tell you what a relief it is to have it done!

Ahhhh...Vacation (Almost)

We have our mid-semester break, meaning no school on Monday and Tuesday of next week. And, since my Lit and Justice profs cancelled class tomorrow I get to have a 5 day weekend. Sort of.

I've been procrastinating on a paper for one of my World History in the 20th Century class. I'm supposed to research a topic, interview someone over or near the age of 60 and write a paper. My interviews were done 2 weeks ago. I finished up some research last week, but otherwise the majority of the research was done 2 weeks ago as well. I just can't seem to make myself sit down and write the damn paper. I chose Stonewall as a topic, so it's not for lack of interest in the subject. I need to get a little more info for a couple of my references, but basically all that is left is to write the paper...And papers I am good at. Hopefully I will get it mostly done tomorrow, proofread and edit on Saturday, then finish up the bibliography on Sunday. If I do that I will still have 2 (mostly) free days to relax and not have to think about it.

In my other history class, US History through 1865, we have 2 tests and a paper. That's it, that's our whole grade. As I mentioned before, History is NOT my subject. I'm terrible at remembering dates, and I suck at geography. Took our first essay test in there 2 weeks ago...Got the test back today and...I got an A. BIG ASS GRIN!

Have gotten B's on my Lit papers so far, and hopefully can bring that up to an A. Got a B on a hard-as-hell Justice exam. So classes are going fairly well. Getting decent grades doesn't come easy for me and it never has. I used to be content with whatever grade I got, as long as it was at least a C. Now they've suddenly become somewhat important. Weird.

That's my little update. Oh...and there are only like 73 days until Christmas. :)

Banks vs. Credit Unions

I've been reading a number of financial blogs lately. I've always been interested in money and how to make it grow, how to best reduce debt, etc. Anyway, I came across a few entries about banks versus credit unions and how credit unions usually give you a better interest rate. I did some homework, the Princess made a few calls and lo and behold! A credit union in the next town (that we are eligible to join) has a savings account with twice the amount of interest that we currently have at our bank. Here's my question: Is it really that easy? Or is there a catch of some kind? Should I transfer all of our savings over to the new bank, or should I leave some in my old savings account? Anyone, anyone, Bueller?