I really wish I could have taken part in Good Riddance Day in Times Square a couple days ago. It’s been a rough year, and I can’t say that I’m sad to see it go. I was trying to decide if it was the worst year I’d ever had, since 2003 and 2004 were not so great either. It’s hard to say since I did do a bunch of awesome things this year (like go to Europe, Chicago, and Florida [x3]) to try to balance it out.

So down with the negativity! 2010 will be awesome! Some things I am looking forward to:

Getting the photography business off the ground! I have a few shoots set up already and am greatly looking forward to them, as well as joining a local photography group. So if any of you out there need some photos….

Going to Vegas! That’s right. I’m going to Vegas in the spring. More on that later, but it involves a bunch of girls, some photo shoots, and other awesome stuff. I’ve never been, so it should be a blast. (Psst…if anyone hears about any good Southwest flight deals, let me know.)

Getting organized! I’m declaring 2010 the Year I Got Rid of Stuff. I hereby promise that I will go through most of the stuff in my house and decide if I should keep, sell, donate, or get rid of all of it. There. I said it. Now I have to do it. (Although, not according to this article.)

The final season of Lost! It starts on February 2, and all you Lost fans are invited out to my place to party it up Dharma-style. Let’s just say, we’ll have this:

Too bad it’s a weeknight.

I haven’t updated in a few months, so look at this! Only two things left to do before my birthday in two months!

Before I’m 28, I will:
• watch “Citizen Kane”.
• read at least five books on my books to read list. (Screw it. The list isn’t happening. I HAVE read four books so far this year [um, only one was on the list] so I may be actually able to make it five before my birthday.)
• get a passport.
• see a live musical. (Yay for “Wicked”!)
• make a new friend. (I’ve made several!)
• buy (or acquire) a dSLR camera and learn how to use it.
• volunteer for something.
• watch a sunrise.
• take a class of some sort.
• travel to Europe.

Before I’m 29, I will:
• kiss under a waterfall.
• read at least ten books on my books to read list.
• hold a formal 4-course dinner party.
• do landscaping on the yard.
• hire a maid.
• go skydiving.
• learn to knit.
• go to Vegas.
• write to a congressperson about something that’s really important to me.
• travel to a beach I’ve never been to. (Went to Destin!)

Before I’m 30, I will:
• get a promotion.
• read at least fifteen books on my books to read list.
• write a novel.
• pay my parents back.
• pay off all student loans and credit cards.
• put 10% of my paycheck into my 401k.
• build a snowman.
• stop thinking of 30 as old.
• see at least one of the following bands/artists in concert: Tool, Coldplay, Nine Inch Nails, Jack Johnson, or Daft Punk. (I still want to see the others, of course, but NIN was awesome.)
• travel to California.

I don’t normally see very many Minis on my drive home from work. I’m thinking not a lot of people out where I live own them or something. So as I turned off the main road to head toward my house, I was pleasantly surprised to see a blue Mini up ahead (that wasn’t my neighbor).

I drew closer and prepared to wave. Right as I was about to raise my hand, a hand shot out of the open window of the other car. Do my eyes deceive me? I thought to myself. Could this Mini be waving first? In fact, it was!

So I know I said I’d consider it a success when someone else waved to me first. But…two days? Really? I’m thinking it was some sort of fluke, despite never being waved to first in this town before. Hmm.

Yes, this is still not a Europe recap. I’m sorry!

When I first bought my Mini Cooper back in 2007, I received a handbook instructing me how to act as a Mini owner, called the Unauthorized Owner’s Manual. The disclaimer in the front states, “This manual is not intended to help you understand the operation and maintenance of your motor vehicle. Rather, it is meant to provide you with invaluable information that would, under normal motoring conditions, take most MINI owners months to discover for themselves. Information has been painstakingly gleaned from many hours of vehicle operation.”

One of the first things this book tells you is that MINI owners do not obsess over the cleanliness of their cars. Which is something I’m good at doing, as washing my car really rarely crosses my mind. It states, “Maintain proper perspective. MINI owners do not irrationally obsess about such things. Bug guts on the grille and muddy fenders are signs of a healthy, well-motored life. Imagine it’s like tooling around town in an abstract painting.”

Continuing through, the book informs you how to make out properly in your car and tips on how to flirt at red lights.

But the real point of this post is on pages 26 and 28 of the manual. Page 26 states, “Dating back to MINI’s birth in the UK, there exists a time-honored tradition of owners greeting each other when they pass on the streets. The moment you first sat in your MINI, you became a member of the family. So, as is customary, try and refrain from acts of shyness, aloofness or woeful complacency. When you pass another MINI, say, ‘Hey.’” Page 28 has graphical representation of different waves you can do to other vehicles.

I was excited when I first read this. I like it when people wave to me. I dated an abundance of guys with Jeeps in 1999 and 2000, and they all taught me about the ‘Jeep wave’, so I was excited to have one of my own. And then I figured out: no one in this town follows the manual.

I was shy at first, so I was waiting for people to wave to me. But no one ever did. In the first year and a half of owning my car, literally the only other Mini owner who waved to me was my neighbor who lived three doors down and also had a Mini. I don’t know if this is because we both owns Minis or because we are neighbors. Maybe it’s both.

When I went to Europe, Mini Coopers were practically every third car, especially in Paris. I kept wanting to wave to them. Even the parked ones. But I would look like a fool, considering I was an American tourist walking around on foot. So I returned to the States with a new resolve to restart the Mini wave here in Nashville. Hence, Operation: MINI wave was born.

Except Minis are NOT every third car here. They are quite rare. And when I see them, they are on the wrong side of the road or in some other location that makes it impossible to wave to them. So I was a little disgruntled when I got back and could go for days without even seeing one of my own kind.

Until yesterday.

I performed my first successful wave yesterday to a guy in a white Mini on West End Ave. Rock on. (For the curious, we both partook in a Commoner Wave.) So Operation: MINI wave has officially begun. I will consider it a success when people start waving to me, without me waving first. I would also consider it a success if I get a certain local celebrity who drives a Mini to wave at me.

So, if you happen to be a local Mini driver, please do your part. Let’s be friendly car owners!

Okay, I promise a total recap of my Europe trip in the coming weeks. But, first, I wanted to talk about some revelations I had about life while I was gone.

Since Ben and I split, he has complained that I’ve changed. It hit me that it hasn’t been me that has changed, but my focus in life.

When we were together, I wanted what I thought I was supposed to want…which I’ve really wanted all my life; I won’t deny that. I wanted us to grow up, settle down, buy a house in the suburbs, get married, start a family, etc. I wanted stability. It was to the point that I had mapped out our entire lives in Quicken so I could figure out where we would be financially when we both retired, even after paying college tuition for our two children. Ben, on the other hand, was always more spontaneous than me. I planned. He did not. I wanted to be what I considered an adult. He did not. We did not have the same focus in life, and, thus, we were doomed to fail.

Since our split, I started thinking a lot. Is this really what I want? Or is this just what society is telling me I should want? I thought about things that I enjoy in life. I love being in the security of a relationship. I love to travel. I love the thought of being spontaneous, though I’m really not, which is why I usually tend toward spontaneous guys when I date. I started imagining the life I had previously wanted. My life revolving around my children. No freedom to do what I want anymore. All my money being slowly sapped away for 18+ years. It seemed bleak. I started looking at my house that I bought less than two years ago, and just really, really wanting to sell it and move somewhere random. Maybe I’m just associating it with bad/sad memories; I don’t know.

Part of the reason I started thinking about this stuff was due to two former Weddingbee bloggers writing about why they will or won’t have children. I had started trying to catch up on all the blogs I’d neglected to read during my downtime last month and came across these posts. Ellie (Mrs. Lovebug) wrote about her decision to be child-free. I’d link to it, but it seems she’s since made her blog private. In response, Sara (Mrs. Creampuff) wrote about how she used to not want children, but why she will probably have them. You can read her three-part post here, here, and here. I found that I agreed with all their reasons to not have children. This confused me for a bit. I’ve always wanted kids. Ask anyone that knows me. I was kind of obsessed with it. So, the fact that I was suddenly thinking that I didn’t really made me open my eyes a little (okay, a lot). That’s when I started thinking about the whole what I want vs. what society wants thing. I’ve had people point out that maybe I just think I don’t want them because I’m not currently in a relationship with anyone, and that once I meet the right person, I’ll desperately want to have his children. Maybe. Maybe not. I’m not going to say that I definitely never, ever want children; I’m just going to say that I’m leaning that way right now, as I know I am not currently financially, emotionally, or mentally prepared for such a difficult task that would change my life forever.

Anyway, so back to my actual point. The revelation that I may not want children really threw my life focus into some sort of whirlwind. I mean, that was the Ultimate Goal. I had to rethink everything. I mentally changed my focus to ‘fun’ while I gave it more thought, and that’s where I was for the majority of the month of May.

Then I went to Europe.

Paris was the first stop, and I absolutely fell in love. Head over heels. If someone offered me a job today and said, “But you’ll have to move to Paris,” I wouldn’t give it a second thought. I’ve always been fond of large cities. This is where I hit revelation #2: Living in the suburbs kind of sucks. If I were going to live in Paris, I’d want to live IN Paris. In some tiny apartment in the middle of everything. Large house in the suburbs is also apparently not something I really want anymore. Strange. Although, I guess if I don’t plan on filling it with children, there’s no real need. I also have an overwhelming desire to sell most of the crap in my house.

I decided that I needed to move somewhere with an awesome Metro system. Best. Thing. Ever. So, yes, I do think I will be moving at some point in the future. Probably out of state. Probably somewhere with a Metro system. And preferably somewhere on the coast. I mentally kicked myself for not pursing that job in San Francisco a few years back. I didn’t for several reasons, the main two was that I didn’t want to move far from Ben in case we got back together (we were on a break at the time) and that I was scared to death of moving by myself. I’m working on my fear of doing things alone. I went to a bar last night by myself for the first time ever. I survived. I actually had fun.

So two major things had been knocked out of my original life focus. What was I supposed to focus on now? I still want to get married, of course, as nothing is more important to me than love, and I can’t EVER see that changing. But the rest of it? Not what I want anymore.

I decided that my focus should be to live. Don’t overplan, as I have a tendency to do. It surprises a lot of people when I tell them I didn’t plan my Europe trip. Sure, I booked hotels and transportation. But that’s it. When we stepped off the plane in Paris, my mom asked how we were supposed to get to our hotel. I didn’t know. But I figured it out. And that’s all I’m trying to do now. One day at a time. Figure it out.

I’m in Europe, so I’ve scheduled this to post while I’m gone. The first list is getting there… Um, and I rearranged a bit. I removed “buy land for a house”, moved “build a snowman” to later, and added “go to Vegas”.

Before I’m 28, I will:
• watch “Citizen Kane”.
• read at least five books on my books to read list. (I think I need a new list. Or not keep myself to a list. I keep reading things that aren’t on the list.)
• get a passport.
• see a live musical. (I can cross this off in September.)
• make a new friend.
• buy (or acquire) a dSLR camera and learn how to use it.
• volunteer for something.
• watch a sunrise.
• take a class of some sort.
• travel to Europe.

Before I’m 29, I will:
• kiss under a waterfall.
• read at least ten books on my books to read list.
• hold a formal 4-course dinner party.
• do landscaping on the yard.
• hire a maid.
• go skydiving.
• learn to knit.
• go to Vegas.
• write to a congressperson about something that’s really important to me.
• travel to a beach I’ve never been to.

Before I’m 30, I will:
• get a promotion.
• read at least fifteen books on my books to read list.
• write a novel.
• pay my parents back.
• pay off all student loans and credit cards.
• put 10% of my paycheck into my 401k.
• build a snowman.
• stop thinking of 30 as old.
• see at least one of the following bands/artists in concert: Tool, Coldplay, Nine Inch Nails, Jack Johnson, or Daft Punk. (Stupid Coldplay is coming while I’ll be in Europe. Not to mention that the tickets are like $120 each.)
• travel to California.

One more thing off the list…

Before I’m 28, I will:
• watch “Citizen Kane”.
• read at least five books on my books to read list. (Still have not gotten my butt to the library.)
• get a passport. (In progress. Mother, please have my birth certificate ready for me when I come home next weekend. I have a feeling I’m going to have to expedite the thing.)
• see a live musical. (Yay, I have “Wicked” tickets!)
• make a new friend.
• buy (or acquire) a dSLR camera and learn how to use it.
• volunteer for something. (I’ve got the applications. I just need stamps to mail them.)
• watch a sunrise.
• take a class of some sort.
• travel to Europe. (Hopefully in June.)

Before I’m 29, I will:
• kiss under a waterfall.
• read at least ten books on my books to read list.
• hold a formal 4-course dinner party.
• do landscaping on the yard.
• hire a maid.
• go skydiving.
• learn to knit.
• build a snowman.
• write to a congressperson about something that’s really important to me.
• travel to a beach I’ve never been to.

Before I’m 30, I will:
• get a promotion.
• read at least fifteen books on my books to read list.
• write a novel.
• pay my parents back.
• pay off all student loans and credit cards.
• put 10% of my paycheck into my 401k.
• buy land to build a house.
• stop thinking of 30 as old.
• see at least one of the following bands/artists in concert: Tool, Coldplay, Nine Inch Nails, Jack Johnson, or Daft Punk. (Stupid Coldplay is coming while I’ll be in Europe. Not to mention that the tickets are like $120 each.)
• travel to California.

If you haven’t heard, Ben and I called off the wedding. Obviously, this presents a problem for a few items on my “30 Things” list. Namely, getting married and having babies. So I’m going to have to rework the list a little. But, at least I can mark off a few things!

Before I’m 28, I will:
• watch “Citizen Kane”. (Still sitting on my entertainment center. I’m really, really going to try to watch it this week.)
• read at least five books on my books to read list. (Yeah, nowhere close yet.)
• get a passport. (In progress.)
• see a live musical. (I really want to see “Wicked” later this year. We’ll see if I can get/afford tickets.)
• make a new friend. (Yeah, still working on this.)
• buy (or acquire) a dSLR camera and learn how to use it.
• volunteer for something. (I’ve got the applications. I just need stamps to mail them.)
• watch a sunrise.
• take a class of some sort. (I bumped this one up, since I did it already. I took both a photography class and a cooking class.)
• travel to Europe. (This one got bumped up too, since I am planning a trip as we speak.)

Before I’m 29, I will:
• kiss under a waterfall. (I bumped this one down, since I was expecting this to happen on our honeymoon, and, well, now it won’t.)
• read at least ten books on my books to read list.
• hold a formal 4-course dinner party.
• do landscaping on the yard.
• hire a maid. (I’m debating on whether I should replace this with something. Kind of silly for just little ol’ me to have a maid.)
• go skydiving.
• learn to knit.
• build a snowman. (Still hasn’t snowed enough.)
• write to a congressperson about something that’s really important to me.
• travel to a beach I’ve never been to. (Like Tahiti! As if I could ever afford that.)

Before I’m 30, I will:
• get a promotion.
• read at least fifteen books on my books to read list.
• write a novel. (Heartbreak does at least give you some good story ideas.)
• pay my parents back. (This one got a little more feasible without having to pay for a wedding.)
• pay off all student loans and credit cards. (This one too.)
• put 10% of my paycheck into my 401k.
• buy land to build a house. (I’m tempted to remove this one, as what’s the point of needing a bigger house if I don’t have a family.)
• stop thinking of 30 as old.
• see at least one of the following bands/artists in concert: Tool, Coldplay, Nine Inch Nails, Jack Johnson, or Daft Punk.
• travel to California. (I’ve never been and I want to.)

I was tempted to throw “get married” onto the last section of the list, but it’s probably better not to give myself a deadline for that. But you probably noticed all my new stuff involves traveling, which, as I said when I made the list, I wanted to include more of anyway.

Thought everyone might be interested in how the 30 before 30 goals are coming along…

I have added “Citizen Kane” to my Blockbuster Total Access list, although I’ve had “Prince Caspian” for over a month now and I really want to see “The Duchess” next, so it’ll find its way to me in time…

I have been reading, but unfortunately none of it has been on my books to read list. But I am currently reading “Angels and Demons” by Dan Brown and “The Last Unicorn” (my autographed copy!!) by Peter S. Beagle. I also recently read “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” by Fitzgerald because I want to see the movie, as well as “Click for Love”, which is a personalized romance novel that my mom got for me for Christmas, haha.

I did acquire a dSLR camera for Christmas, so the next part of that is learning how to use it. Dove Wedding Photography is offering a photography basics workshop at the end of the month that I’d love to take, but I’m waiting to hear back if it is full already or not. Incidentally, this would also take care of “take a class of some sort”.

Also, along those same lines, Ben and I are taking a cooking class at the end of February to learn how to make a Sicilian dinner. So I guess that would count too.

For my “make a new friend” goal, I have signed myself up at meetup.com and am in two meetup groups: Nashville Hip Chicks and Board Game Lovers. Hopefully, I will be able to make a friend through one of these groups.

I’ve also been contemplating what I want my novel to be about, but so far have nothing. Well, actually I had something, but failed to write it down and then forgot it. So there you go.

I did pretty well on my list last year. I bought a house, bought a car, adopted a kitten (or two), took a vacation, and started my business. Still have a bit of credit card debt, thanks to the wedding, but I’m working on it.

Since it’s my 27th birthday, I thought I would crank it up a notch. Here are thirty things that I want to accomplish before I’m 30, with 10 of them before I’m 28, and 10 more before I’m 29. I think I could realistically do all these things. I would love to travel more than I have on here, but we’ll start with this.

Before I’m 28, I will:
• get married.
• watch “Citizen Kane”. (I’ve never seen it.)
• read at least five books on my books to read list.
• get a passport.
• see a live musical. (I see ballets every year, but I’ve only seen one musical in like the last 10-15 years.)
• make a new friend. (Probably the hardest thing for me on the entire list, especially considering I only gave myself a year.)
• buy (or acquire) a dSLR camera and learn how to use it.
• volunteer for something.
• kiss under a waterfall.
• watch a sunrise.

Before I’m 29, I will:
• travel to Europe.
• take a class of some sort.
• read at least ten books on my books to read list.
• hold a formal 4-course dinner party. (I’ve been dying to do this, but I never have enough money.)
• do landscaping on the yard. (Or…hire someone to landscape.)
• hire a maid. (Ben and I are in agreement that we hate housework and want to hire a maid as soon as we can afford one.)
• go skydiving.
• learn to knit.
• build a snowman. (Of course, this is contingent on it ever snowing…)
• write to a congressperson about something that’s really important to me.

Before I’m 30, I will:
• have a baby. (The scariest thing on the list, lol.)
• get a promotion.
• read at least fifteen books on my books to read list.
• write a novel.
• pay my parents back. (You don’t want to know how much money I owe them. This is probably the least feasible thing I have on here.)
• pay off all student loans and credit cards.
• put 10% of my paycheck into my 401k. (I’m doing 6% right now.)
• buy land to build a house.
• stop thinking of 30 as old.
• see at least one of the following bands/artists in concert: Tool, Coldplay, Nine Inch Nails, Jack Johnson, or Daft Punk.

I put an offer on a fifth house last night, and they countered it this morning, not wanting to pay closing costs. So we raised the mortgage price a bit to include the closing cost amount, and they accepted it! (Well, verbally…still waiting on the paperwork.) I want the extra money to replace the hideous pink carpets that unfortunately cover every floor surface that isn’t vinyl.

So now on to step 2: the house inspection.

I didn’t get the house from my last post. It need a lot of work, and they were not willing to do it, and the loan I’m getting requires the property to be in good shape.

So I put an offer on another one, a little further out. However, my realtor told me on Monday that they were waiting to see if some other person was going to buy it before they would consider other offers. We were supposed to know something by yesterday, but I haven’t heard anything yet.

If I don’t get this one, I have another potential one in mind to put an offer on.

Thanks to everyone who is posting and calling with words of support. This is an incredibly frustrating process, and I really appreciate it.

I put another offer on another house on Monday, and I was supposed to hear back by noon today, but so far NOTHING. I guess I will call my realtor when I get off work. This is incredibly frustrating.

In other news, I am apparently going to Six Flags this weekend to roast in the hot sun of Atlanta. Luckily, the line for Batman: The Ride is mostly indoors, and that’s all that matters. But Ben, Wayne, Wayne’s brother, Chance, Kelley, Jon, Faithe, Matt, Karen, Sam, Brent, Chad, and maybe a couple other people are all going as well, so it should be pretty fun. Haven’t been since Fright Fest ‘05.

Then in two weeks it’s back down to Atlanta for Dragon*Con! Yay! I never did work on any new costumes though….

I put in an offer on the one with the blue countertops, but I don’t think they are going to budge either, according to their realtor. But nothing official from them yet.

I’m also considering putting an offer on another one that I saw last weekend. While not as perfect as these others, it still is quite nice. It has an nice open layout and a fireplace. The backyard would need to be fenced in and there’s no deck, just a patio out back. Also, the master bedroom is on the main floor and the laundry room is on the second floor, so I can see that getting kind of annoying. It’s also a little further drive. Hmm..

Anyway, for your amusement…this is what we did at work this week, lol: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0WhilimmKg

They came back with a counter-offer and wanted full price, which I can’t afford, and I had already offered my max amount (since there was supposedly someone else making an offer as well), so I didn’t really have any more negotiating room. So I had to let it go.

Hopefully I can find something in the same neighborhood that I like just as well. I know a few of the houses have similar floorplans. However, from looking at the pictures, all of the other ones have something that’s slightly annoying about them. There is one that looks to be exactly the same, but it has bright blue countertops in the kitchen. That would definitely have to go.

After this weekend’s house hunting excursion, I found a house to make an offer on. It is in the epitome of suburbia, so the neighborhood is good, albeit way further from work than I was originally looking. But if it gets too annoying, I can take the train, since it’s in Hermitage.

Anyway, it’s about 1400 sq ft with three bedrooms and two and a half baths. The living room has 20 foot ceilings and a fireplace and is connected to the dining area and open to the kitchen. The kitchen is also open to the den, which has doors leading out to the deck and fenced-in back yard. The main floor also holds the laundry room, a half bath, and (yay!) a two car garage. Upstairs, on one side are two small bedrooms and a bath, and the other half is the master suite, with two closets (one walk-in), a cut-out looking over the living room, and a nice bath with a garden tub. The whole house has lots of large windows to let in natural light.

The only work it needs, as far as I can see, is there’s some rooms where wallpaper needs to be taken down, and it needs to be painted (of course), and the fence has one little area that needs a repair.

So wish me luck!

Okay, now if the first stressful thing about buying a house is finding one, then the second stressful thing is once you find one, you’ll actually find two, and then have to decide which one to put an offer on first.

So, I saw another 8-9 houses today, and won’t bore you with the details on most of them, except for the two that I like.

House #1: close to work, has a garage (!!!), washer/dryer connections in garage, high ceilings, a skylight, fireplace, open floor plan, 850 sq ft, 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, walk-in closets, small backyard with a patio on the side and privacy fence (yard needs a little fixing up in back, nothing major), carpet needs to be replaced, neighborhood is okay (could be better, but not bad), crime website shows nothing happening in past month, easily affordable

House #2: further from work, no garage, cute front porch with swing, fireplace, smooth top stove, washer/dryer in hallway, hardwood floors, deck, cute backyard with picket fence, 960 sq ft, 2 bedrooms, 1 bath, standard closets, storage shed, neighborhood looks nicer, crime website shows a couple larcenies have happened in the area in the past month, would have to negotiate on price a little to be affordable

So basically, do I go with the already affordable cute contemporary house with the garage in the closer but not-as-nice-looking neighborhood, or do I go with the hopefully negotiable cute traditional house with the deck in the further but nicer looking neighborhood?

I need to make an offer on one tomorrow. Eeek!!!

I would like to say that the number 1 thing that no one ever told me about buying a house is how stressful FINDING a house is. I’ve heard that closing is stressful and all that, but I figured house hunting would be the fun part. I was wrong. I think I’m close to being the most stressed out that I’ve ever been in my life (other factors may be playing into this as well, but the houses take a major part of the blame). Anywho, here’s the summary of today’s house hunt:

House #1: Didn’t go in, didn’t like the neighborhood.
House #2: Was cute, neighborhood was okay, but was way too small. There were only two tiny closets, and nowhere near enough space to put my stuff.
House #3: Didn’t like the neighborhood, needed too much work, had no driveway.
House #4: Didn’t like the neighborhood, had no driveway, didn’t go in.
House #5: Didn’t like the neighborhood, didn’t go in.
House #6: Didn’t like the neighborhood, didn’t go in.
House #7: Neighborhood was iffy, house was cute.
House #8: A possibility. Neighborhood looked good, house was cute, had an open floor plan, a fireplace, three bedrooms, walk-in closets. The main problems were both the front and backyard were hills, and it would be a slow painful drive to work (would have to go through a school zone and then get on the Interstate, would be at least 30 minutes). Also, grocery stores were nowhere close by, and I would have to fence the hilly backyard.
House #9: Another possibility. Neighborhood was good, house was cute, with an open floor plan and a cute little den/office area. However, it was pretty small. Possibly not enough closet space, but it’s main problem was in order to get to the washer and dryer, you would have to go out on the back porch and in through another door. What a pain in the winter. I learned a few years ago that I didn’t like having to go outside to do laundry (when the laundry room at my apartment complex was right next to my apartment). Still, not necessarily a deal breaker, as it could (eventually) be fixed.

*sigh*

I started house hunting yesterday. It’s a bit sad to know that I can’t afford all of the things I really want in a house (mainly: garage, small yard, same size as current apartment, close to town, not in too bad of shape, and in a good neighborhood). I seemingly can’t afford ANYTHING with a garage, which sucks since that was something I was looking forward to the most. Yesterday we looked inside five houses:

House #1 - fulfilled close to town, small yard, and in a good neighborhood, but no garage, smaller than current apartment, and needed work
House #2 - fulfilled close to town, small yard, size of current apartment, and good neighborhood, but no garage and needed work
House #3 - fulfilled close to town, size of current apartment, and not in bad shape, but no garage, had an enormously hilly yard, and was not in a good location
House #4 and #5 - fulfilled size of current apartment, not in bad shape, small yard, and good location, but not close to town and no garage (they were also like duplexes and connected to another unit)

Hopefully, I will have more luck next weekend.

Also, I have been semi-planning my vacation for next year. I have decided that I want to hit all the highlights of Europe (well, some of them). After pricing how much it would cost to do this on my own, I have been leaning toward taking a Contiki tour with a group of other people since the cost is about the same (if not cheaper). I am thinking of doing the European Discovery tour next October (I know, over a year away…gotta save up money) which takes you through London, Amsterdam, Munich, parts of Austria, Venice, Florence, Rome, Lucerne, and Paris in two weeks. Sounds exhausting, but really fun. I figure if I discover I really like one or two of the places, I can always come back at another time to spend more time there on my own. I really can’t wait to eat authentic Italian food and see the Eiffel Tower up close and take a gondola ride up the Alps. Talk about a photo op. I’ll make sure to bring back some wine and Swiss chocolate and other souvenirs. I should probably apply for my passport now to make sure I get it on time, hehehe.

Since I’m on the verge of house hunting, I’ve been thinking a lot about my goals for the future. I’m trying to tell myself not to plan things that involve anyone other than myself, but that is sometimes hard to do. Like, I would like to have my first child before I’m 30, but that’s really not completely my decision (although I guess it could be, but I’d like my kids to have a father, not some random donor, lol). Seeing as I’m almost 26, I’m trying to ignore that clock in my ovaries screaming that I’m not even married yet (which gets louder every time one of my friends has a kid and has really reached a crescendo now that I’ve realized that I don’t have a single friend–male or female–who is not engaged or married).

So, to feel relatively in control of other aspects of my life, I have compiled a list of my goals that I can (hopefully) reasonably complete on my own. Yay, independence. *rolls eyes*

For 2007, I expect to:
- buy a house/townhouse before my lease is up in October - yay no more landlord, boo to yard work and maintenance
- buy a car as soon as I close on the house - since Ariel is falling apart more every day, I can only pray that she will last that long
- adopt a kitten and/or puppy - with Ben moving to Murfreesboro and me having no friends who live that close, I will need the companionship; idealistically, I’d like to get both at the same time, so they will grow up together, but getting a puppy completely depends on me having a fenced-in backyard, so who knows….getting a kitten either way, I don’t care that I’m allergic, I got used to Lydia quickly enough

For 2008, I expect to:
- pay off all credit card debt - I’ve gotten about halfway there this year, so hopefully I can finish it off next year
- take a vacation - I haven’t had a true vacation in over 5 years, I need one
- take off on my yet-to-be-announced part-time self-employment venture - more about this in a few months