One Week

Only one more week until Pete and I close on our house. I'm excited, but part of me is also kind of scared. There are several reasons for my mixed emotions:

1) I will officially live in Minnesota. No more Montana. No more Wisconsin. I will own a home in Minnesota. It's not just a place to visit Pete anymore. In fact, people will have to come here to visit me.

2) Wow, a house is a huge commitment. Some days I'm lucky to be able to feed myself breakfast and function all day long. I don't feel that grown up. I'm not married. A year ago I had no idea where I would be right now. Part of me wonders if I'm grown up and responsible enough to own my own home.

3) I realize that I have decided to make Minnesota my home, and that eventually it will feel that way, but right now it doesn't. After just a few months in Madison I felt more at home than I do here after almost a year. Part of that I think is that in Madison I was all alone and got to know the town myself, where as here I don't do much by myself because I have Pete. I'm glad I do, but it still doesn't feel like my town. It's also kind of bittersweet because there are many things I miss, and Pete's whole life is already here. He has his family, his friends, his career. I know it's my home now, too, but I guess it's going to take me a little longer to get there. I guess even when you know someone moving to a new place is going to be a little lonely.

Funny Valentine

Happy Valentine's Day! I know a lot of people don't like Valentine's Day, but I've always liked it. Even when the boys/men in my life have been disappointing (which has happened more often than not), I always get a sweet card and gift from my parents. That's how I got my favorite Griz Football t-shirt.

I don't buy into all the commercial aspects of the day: the flowers, candy, etc. Well, except for the conversation hearts, which I love. I do buy into those, but they're cheap, so it's all good. I know a lot of people find Valentine's Day super stressful, but I think that applies more in the early stages of a relationship, where you're worried about doing enough but not too much.

The past two Valentine's Days have been easily the best of my life. Last year, Peter came to Madison and we went to a Badgers/Gophers women's hockey game. This year, Pete cooked me an amazing dinner and we ate it on the living room floor. I say, what's not to love about a day to tell the people in your life how much they mean to you? Skeptics will say that you need to show it every day and that one day a year is meaningless. I agree that love needs to be there on normal days, too. However, I love any excuse to do something special for each other.

So here's to the two boys who make my life so happy. Thanks for a beautiful day :) I love you both.

School & School

My classes at Hamline have started up again, so in addition to working at school during the day, I've got school stuff to do at night now. The nice thing (at least I think it's going to be nice) is that I only have to go to campus one day a week this semester. I have a class Thursday night, and then my other class is online. It's such a push to make it from work to class in a half hour with traffic, so I'm glad I don't have to do it twice a week. So far the online class seems like it's going to be alright.

This Wednesday is Valentine's Day already, and this year I'm buying Pete a new bike. Just kidding! With the house purchase looming in less than two weeks, we decided that our new home would be our Valentine's Day gift to each other this year. Plus I would have no idea what kind of bike to get him. He's very specific and he changes his mind a lot. Pete kind of broke our no gift rule and came home with tickets to the WCHA semifinals at the X. I'm so excited and Pete is the best boyfriend ever! Hockey tickets are definitely the way to my heart :)

As much as I like winter, this is the time of year when I start being ready for spring. Lately I've been looking at pictures from last summer and getting excited for this summer. I know we've got a lot of winter left, but I'm pretty much over it now. I could never live anywhere that didn't have four seasons. What do those people have to look forward to?