Reigning in the home frenzy?

I attended a home buyers workshop this weekend and I'm struggling now to keep my terror and excitement in check. Just about everyone knows I'm buying a house now and everytime they ask me about it I get all bubbly and giddy. But I'm not ready to jump in with both feet yet. I've got some more budget rearrangement to do and I'd like to pay down my debt some more.

I've got three trips on three consecutive weekends coming up (Philly, St Louis, and VA). Then I'll take a weekend off to recover. That gives me a month to chill out, look around and educate myself more. Then I'll find a realtor and things will really take off.

News

I've managed to fit in two (2!) games of putt putt today. This is a great day.

The news is...I've decided to buy a house. So I'm starting to do all that background research and reading and stuff. I've got a workshop next week that's offered by the state of MN for first time homebuyers. I'll know more after that. But I've started spreading the news and getting recommendations for agents and inspectors and stuff. Fun!

FYI - the headache lasted the entire day, but was gone by morning. Now I'm reveling in 80 degree weather and crystal clear skies. Did I ever mention how good the air smells here? Funny detail, but true.

Am I paying for last nights fun?

I had a lovely night last night. Talked with Dennis (Hi, Dennis!) and then went to a wine tasting. The theme was interesting labels. Surprisingly, the wine was really good, too. My favorite was one of the ones I brought, a lovely pinot verde that turned out to be sparkling, too. It was perfect for summer.

I'd like to point out that I did not overindulge (maybe a glass and a half total) and I went home at a reasonable hour (9pm) and yet today I'm afflicted with a wretched headache. One of those that feels like someone is stabbing you in the temple with an icepick (the left temple, in case you are interested). Plus I overslept this morning by a lot (not sure if the headache is tied in with this, but I was having some crazy dreams). Luckily, the meeting I missed was cancelled instead. Whew. Now the question is, can I make it through the rest of the day. And with that cliffhanger, I leave you.

Hot

But the east coast is hotter. Actually our 95 degree weather broke on Sunday with an smashing downpour that lasted a few hours. But before that happened, I got a good visit in to the farmer's market. Picked up all sorts of lovelies. Mixed lettuces, shelling peas and mint, tomatoes and basil, the first corn of the season, some tiny first carrots (to small to peel, you just eat them), tender zucchini. I went with a chowhound friend and we split some of our purchases (since you get a lot for a little and there is no sense in letting this stuff go bad before you get to it). Thanks to Kate, I've got a baby bok choy in my crisper, too. I want to see if I can recreate the Napa Snappa that I used to enjoy in Norfolk.

Predictably, after a lovely morning at the market, I did not feel like cooking anything I had purchased. So I scraped together a bit of cash and ordered chinese. I'll eat the leftovers for lunch and start on my fresh veg haul tonight.

Birthday fun...

My family came up from Virginia to help me celebrate my birthday. I picked them up from the airport on Saturday and we headed to the Science Museum. They checked out my Light exhibit and then we headed outside for mini-golf. Mom won, but I was a close second. Dad and MF cheated and still lost (of course, they say it's only cheating if you win.) We had dinner at Sara and Brian's house, grilled pizzas - which were a revelation to Mom and MF, and then we played Mexican Train dominos. So nice.

Sunday, we went to the MN Arb (the big one, far away out near Lake Minnetonka, not the small, close one at Como). They have an Art to A-Maze walk which is a bunch of installed art exhibits throughout the grounds that form a trail which leads to their new garden maze. The weather was perfect and we had a lovely time wandering around and then conquering the maze. MF and I made it through first, but Dad was the most crafty. If I'm ever lost, I'll follow him.

Monday was my birthday and I had my birthday meal at Hell's Kitchen. Best bloody mary every, plus lemon ricotta pancakes and a cup of mahnomin porridge all to myself. I was in heaven. Plus, the server carded me for the bloody mary (yay!) and when he found out it was my birthday, he comped us a caramel pecan roll. So decadent.

All in all, it was a wonderful weekend. Full of sweet and salty and dominos and family. Couldn't have asked for better.