I had a nice conversation with my friend Colleen the other day which really made me realize how much I miss her. I’ve never met anyone with such out amazing and mature outlook on life.

I don’t know what I love more about my conversations with her, the way she gives great advice, or the way she gives great advice in a completely non-judgmental manner. I want to be more like her. I want to be able to put myself in the shoes of other people as well as she does. To be able to understand the way they think and make decisions, and to be able to walk away from a conversation where I disagree with the other person without judging them for it.

I think she’s also one of the most confident and independent people I know. Perhaps confidence REALLY means being able to empathize with people so well that you no longer need to tear them down to build yourself up. And when you can achieve that, perhaps you can make your own independent decisions proudly and stand tall on two feet.

I would like very much to surround myself with more people like Colleen. People I can really respect for their wisdom, maturity, and empathetic lifestyle.

Heavy material for the beginning of a long holiday weekend; I apologize. But I’m just getting it out of my system in advance so I can spend the rest of the weekend lolling around in this beautiful weather and stuffing my face with Tennessee’s finest bbq. And maybe making some new friends who resemble, in a small way, my dear friend back in the state that bought us our independence in the first place!

I call it Old House #1, because I have a feeling it’s going to be the first, but not the last old house that I find, fall in love with, and WANT! WANT! WANT! We saw it yesterday and the only comparison I can make is that it reminds me so much of The Shrink’s house back in our old Massachusetts town. We loved her, and we loved her house. It was a haven… a refuge… a beautiful place filled with things that felt very New Englandy. This is what Old House #1 is like.

It’s a beautiful house. A craftsman bungalow built in the 30s. Three bedrooms to grow into. Two bathrooms – one with a clawfoot tub. A quirky and beautiful fenced in back yard with a Koi pond that Matt would instantly remove, much to my chagrin. A fireplace. A huge shed with electricity in the backyard – the perfect space for Matt to build furniture in. Central air! MY DREAM HOUSE!

This morning we told the realtor we wanted more info on the age of appliances, water heater, roof, ac, etc. So as to make an offer. Then we found out there is another offer out on it. We could act now and make an offer and get in on it.

Matt has been in meetings all day. Then he has his final exam tonight. Like final Final exam for all post-graduate classes.

The timing is off, no?

We’re going to wait it out over the weekend. Either the other folks’ offer gets accepted or it gets rejected. If it’s rejected, we can still make a move. But there’s no reason to be pushed into a bidding war. We have plenty of time. It’s a buyer’s market. It’s our first home, and we don’t want to rush into a decision.

Oh but I can’t tell you how badly I want that house. I would even… possibly… GIVE UP MEAT TO HAVE THAT HOUSE!

Inspired by Jodi Michelle, here is the first half of my life list.

1. Visit Africa and see all applicable animals.
2. Visit Tierra del Fuego and Antarctica and see all applicable animals.
3. Visit Ireland and drink all applicable beers.
4. Visit New Zealand and see all applicable animals and breathtaking scenery.
5. Bring myself to a place where I enjoy rock climbing with Matt. As of now, I only enjoy belaying due to my fear of heights.
6. Hike the Appalachian Trail, or at least portions therein.
7. Grow a vast and successful garden that supplies the majority of our necessary produce.
8. Have a patch of sunflowers in my backyard.
9. After taking on a mortgage, burn it in 7 years.
10. Maintain a smart enough household budget that Matt is able to retire at age 55.

11. Re-learn French to fluency.
12. Run a marathon.
13. Live long enough to see cancer eradicated.
14. Regularly volunteer time and energy to local nonprofits.
15. Obtain an official paella pan.
16. Forever be my own boss.
17. Raise my kids to be polite enough to have dinner at the White House.
18. Raise my kids to slurp oysters on the half shell.
19. Continually work to reduce my carbon footprint.
20. Play the tambourine while Matt plays the banjo on our back porch in retirement.

21. Own horses.
22. See the Pyramids in Egypt.
23. Travel down the Amazon.
24. Learn how to make perfect empanadas.
25. Wake up every day of my life next to Matt.

So I’ve recently subscribed to a bunch of new blogs which you should be able to find in the blogroll to your right. But I want to highlight some of my favorites.

Vanessa is my old neighbor that I met too late. That sounds like she’s dead. Or I’m dead. Neither of which is true. Her blog is chock full of delicious recipes as well as updates on her lovely garden. And she has a super duper cute puppy that Berlin misses very much.

This Young House is a home design and DIY blog with drool worthy interior design. They also have faaaaaaaaaaantastic giveaways.

And I am lovin Copy Cat Chic which specializes in finding you great designs on the cheap. I totally heart this blog.

Ok, what blogs are you following these days? Any good recommendations?

We have one window in our bedroom, and I can’t tell you how much I wish there was no window at all. Come 5:15 every morning, the sun is blasting through the closed blinds onto our faces waking us up. As if that weren’t enough, the brightness of the bedroom at that hour leads Berlin into believing that it’s MORNING! And time to jump on the bed! And time to play! And growl at the cat!

I don’t think Matt or I have gotten a decent night’s sleep in the past week because of our early wakeup call. So last night before bed I decided once and for all to solve this dilemma. I didn’t even care that it WAS 11:30 pm, Matt was going to drive two nails into the wall above the window and wake up all of the neighbors or I was going to be a monkey’s uncle. Within minutes we had hung a green woolen Pendleton blanket over the window and it was suddenly dark as heaven! A complete eyesore, but delightful nonetheless!

I haven’t slept that well since walking the 3-day.

This morning Matt came over to kiss me and say goodbye before he left for work, and I was still curled up in the luxuriously dark bedroom. “I love you, hon. Enjoy the bat cave.”

The only thing that could make it better would be to have cute little fruit bats curled up in bed with me. And/or Christian Bale standing guard in his Batman regalia.

Matt has recently embarked on updating the photos we have of family laying around our pad. I’m not sure where he got the inspiration, but I’m thoroughly pleased that he did. We realized that we hadn’t printed off photos since the 3 most recent neices & nephews, and that I was ten pounds lighter in all the pictures. Those photos he’s not allowed to replace.

All I can say while looking at these new pictures is HOT DIGGITY. We’ve got a good lookin family!

We just got a new printer at Christmas that Matt uses for work, but does anyone have a photo printer that is actually worth the money? I would love to be able to print out big 8×10s, but is it just cheaper for me to do that on Snapfish than to print them at home? Do you have a site that you use for really nice printouts?