Random Thoughts on Thursday

I don't have much to say today so I though I would just throw a bunch of random thoughts at you.  And maybe I'll throw in some random photos too.  Nothing like a bit of randomness to get us through a Thursday, right.

~ I didn't fall asleep until almost midnight last night.  I got home from class around 10:45pm, made lunches, washed dishes, washed my pump, got ready for bed, and then couldn't fall asleep for a while.  After thinking so hard for three hours in lab, it's hard to shut my brain off.  

~ On Wednesday after lecture I did two hours of work before crawling into bed and then I slept in until 8am.  It worked out really well because my mind was sharp from doing a billion conversion problems and I knew it would take me a while to zonk out.  So instead I started my work day early and then went to bed. I got a decent amount of work done before bed and then slept a little late.  Win-win.

~ One of the reasons I was late last night was because I met an old,old friend after class.  Andy and I waited tables at Riccutti's and then Luna Bella back in the day.  Like way back in the day...over ten years ago.  We used to be super good friends and he even came to visit me in Atlanta when I was in grad school.  Now that we are both married with kids we never see each other.  The last time I saw him was three years ago at his surprise bday party.  However, we both have class on Wednesdays that go until 10:20 so we chatted for a short while after class.  It was fun to catch up.

~ For my husband's bday my nieces made him a bday card.  My husband actually nailed it to the wall. And not a hidden wall, nope he nailed it right next to my large Ansel Adams print above the fireplace.  Definitely front and center of our living room.  

~ I haven't put laundry away in two weeks.  Both hubs and I are grabbing clean clothes from the hamper.  Hubs keeps complaining about how wrinkled his are.  I don't seem to care.  This weekend I swear I am going to catch up.

~ The photographer who did our family shots sends us photos every once in a while from our photo shoot and I love them.  I am so happy we went with photos instead of a big party.  The photos of Evan are priceless.  I just hope the photos of me turn out and I stood up straight in them.  My posture has been atrocious this past year.

Serious cuteness!

~ I am reading a book called Shucked: Life on a New England Oyster Farm about a woman who quits her cushy job to learn about shucking oysters on an oyster farm.  It's for our family book club and I am learning so much about oysters.  Except I hate oysters so I can't appreciate the author's love of the mollusk (Are oysters mollusks?  I'm too lazy to look it up).  

Ok, enough randomness for now.  Hope you are having a wonderful Thrsday!

Wanting what you don't have

I don't usually want too many things that I can't afford.  Of course there are times when I wish I could travel more or buy new clothes or things of that nature, but those are just fleeting thoughts, nothing that I ponder too much.  Hubs and I don't have a ton of money, but we have enough to make us happy and enough to feed, house, and cloth our family.  However, with the beautiful August weather we are having and the feel of fall in the air, it always makes me pine for a house.  Not an apartment, not a rental, but our own little house.

I don't usually mind our apartment.  It's the perfect size for us and I've never wanted to own a huge living space unless I had a huge family.  Plus, it's in a great neighborhood and is located close to where I catch the bus and where my hubs works and within walking distance to my sister's.  All great qualities that, most of the time, overshadow the fact that it's falling apart and is on the verge of becoming a trash dump (a dump for which I pay practically a quarter of my yearly income).

But on these nice days, I would love a deck with a fenced in yard for Evan and the dog. 

Source = google images

 How nice would it be to sit on that deck and enjoy the end of summer days???

When it's nice out, I make sure to pop Evan in the stroller and take Dolce on a nice, long walk.
 
We live in a beautiful neighborhood with bike paths through the woods and two lakes close by that you can walk around.  The neighborhoods are pretty to walk through and there are always runners and bikers and walkers out enjoying the weather.  However, for some reason, no matter how many walks I take, I still can't get enough fresh air.  I get back to my apartment and still want to be outside. We have a small balcony off our living room but it's not really conducive to sitting.  The mosquitoes are horrible because the trees are so close (practically on top of the balcony) and Evan can't really crawl around and play out there.  It's not as fun as BBQing on a deck and spending all day outside in the yard.

Source = google images

I mean, if I had an outdoor space like this one, I'd spend all summer out there!  So nice and relaxing and Evan and Dolce could play in the grass and have a grand ol' time. 

I'm assuming one day we'll be able to afford a nice, little house.  I'm not interested in a big house, just something small like this.  I love the bungalow-style house!

Source = google images

Maybe when we move out of this ridiculously expensive location know as the DC Metro area.  My good friend lives in Omaha and was selling her house for $64,000.  Umm, you can't even buy a parking spot for that much in the DC area, let alone a living space.  And she had an adorable little house, not a cardboard box.  I don't need a big house, just a small three bedroom, two bath with a yard.  In a family-friendly neighborhood.  I like the house below, but the fact that all the houses have bars on the windows in that picture make me think it's not so family-friendly.

Source = google images

I've been hesitant to buy something here because I've always felt like I didn't want to settle here (and because we can't afford anything).  But maybe after nursing school we'll move somewhere we'll want to stay and I'll make enough money to get a loan on a house (and the houses will be cheaper).  Not sure how that will work if I'm taking out more loan money for nursing school, but one can dream, right?

Obviously you shouldn't covet what you don't have, but it would be nice to own a house one day.  And then we could fix it up the way we wanted and wouldn't always have the cheapest fixtures (which is what people do when you rent - they put the absolute cheapest stuff in the house because they don't want to waste money on a rental).

Until then, I'll be glad that at least we have a great neighborhood and places to get outside (as many people don't even have that).  And we'll just spend afternoons at the park.

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What is your dream house?

What is something that you dream about buying one day?