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My First Pumpkin-Carving Experience

Went over to Husayn and Suzanne’s tonight and carved pumpkins, roasted pumpkin seeds, and drank hot apple cider.

Best Way to Spend a Saturday Morning

At the Farmer’s Market. I never regret spending money here.

I Am So Smart, S-M-R-T

Wow, I must be really smart! University of Phoenix Online really wants me to enroll, and I didn’t even apply.

Diamonds on My Windshield, Tears from Heaven

Puffy

Happiness Forever

I started practicing my Italian today. The language is so beautiful that I found myself wanting to sing every phrase, like opera. I did, in fact, sing every phrase, like opera -- Eric probably scratched his head and wondered who the heck he married. At least he’ll be happy to have someone along to translate.

You know, I’ve been very lucky in my life. My parents may have been the last people to own an answering machine, a microwave, and a VCR, but they taught me from the earliest age that travel is the quickest way to enrich life and learning. And, they may not have let me stay out past 11:00 pm or drive a car at sixteen, but they practically pushed me out the door when I asked if I could use the money from my espresso-bar job to go to Europe for the summer.

Friends always said I was “sheltered” and that my parents were “strict,” but when I was the only high school kid backpacking through Spain on my own, all I could think was that my parents were awesome. Who cared that I couldn’t go on camping trips with friends or stay out all night on prom night? I danced with gypsies in a small Spanish town at 3:00 am, for goodness sake.

I realize I’m very lucky -- especially so because I found a husband who shares my same love for traveling. If there’s extra spending money, we’ll buy plane tickets; if there’s a choice between eating out then going to movies every weekend or going away for a week, we’ll choose going away. Oftentimes I’m shocked when others don’t have the same philosophy and would prefer movies every weekend, but then again, I had parents who taught me:

Why would you want such an expensive, high-maintenance thing such as a car? It only gives you extra headache. Why don’t you spend the money on seeing the world instead? Those memories, the things you’ll learn -- they’ll give you happiness forever.