Vhayne,
I wish you lots of luck getting into the hobby. As an instructor I try to discourage new pilots from spending any time on a simulator before they start instructions with an instructor. This may seem odd to you, but the problem with you spending time on a simulator is that there is a good chance that you will pick up and learn incorrect procedures or just plain bad habits. Simulators are a great tool that you can use to practice what you learn from an instructor. But when you get on a simulator and start from scratch it's a pretty good bet that you are going to pick up bad habits. I have had quite a few students that I've taught that showed up with this exact problem. It was bad because it actually took longer for them to learn to fly because I had to "un-teach" the bad habits they had picked up before I could teach them the correct way to do things. Trust me on this one. Even though it's winter now, take the time to contact the club and get an instructor. Tell him you want to start on a simulator now and see if he will spend some time with you. If not, I'd recommend setting the simulator aside until you can start instruction with an instructor

Hope this helps

Ken