There are 2 things that I really want to do: 1) learn sign language and 2) speak fluent French. Now, I dabbled with both when I was in high school, but I haven't done much of either of them since then. Th problem is, where can I find the time to learn both languages? Moreover, where can I go that will teach me for free? Sometimes the local YMCA will teach classes like these . . . I will need to investigate further. I've also decided to look more seriously at the local transportation system within our fair city. Charlotte has many city buses and a tram system that provides public transportation to almost anywhere in the Queen City. Since we are temporarily operating off of one salary, it is imperative that we cut costs wherever possible. For the last month, Chris has been dropping me off and pickng me up from work (as we are currently down to only one vehicle in the family). This has been such a treat and I can't tell you how wonderful it is to have him do this for me! However, the trip is rather far and we're using twice as much gas as before. On a normal day, it's a 45 minutte trip from our house (in Concord) to Uptown Charlotte. But if there's an accident or construction, it can take up to 1 1/2 hours just to get to work. Then, once I finally get to Uptown, I have to park 6 blocks away from the office and walk almost a mile (in all weather conditions) just to get into my building. There's a good reason for this . . . the waiting list for a parking spot for all business professionals who work uptown is 2 years or more, not to mention a monthly fee of at least $100 just to park your car all day. So, in protest, I park in a little cement lot 6 blocks outside of the city that only costs $75/mo and is currently available to me now. The sacrifices we make!!! I can't complain too much, though - the walk to and from work is rather nice (not because it's such a beautiful atmosphere - far from it, actually - but because of the excercise it adds to my otherwise too busy schedule to excercise! So, in essence, if I take the bus from Concord to work everyday, automatically we will save money on gas and parking. It will still be somewhere around $100/mo to ride the bus (since it's dual-county), but we'll be saving hundreds in gas/parking - so it must be worth it, right? It's so frickin' expensive to live in Charlotte!!! I'm beyond ready to move back to Raleigh where life is slower and more affordable (though growing less and less everyday according to my dad).

Yesterday I began our Spring cleaning! I love when this time of year comes around - though it would have been a tremendous motivator if the weather actually felt like Spring yesterday! I began with cleaning out and re-organizing all the cabinets/drawers in our house. What a feat! It's amazing how much stuff you can collect and stash in inconspicuous places, then forget that you put it there, only to find it a year later in your spring cleaning! I threw out a bunch of old stuff and it feels so good!!! I LOVE to clean - it's very therapeutic for me - and I've needed a lot of "therapy" lately! :)

Happy Spring!!!

21 Rules To Live By . . .

1. Give people more than they expect and do it cheerfully.

2. Marry a man/woman you love to talk to. As you get older, their conversational skills will be as important as any other.

3. Don't believe all you hear, spend all you have or sleep all you want.

4. When you say, 'I love you,' mean it.

5. When you say, 'I'm sorry,' look the person in the eye.

6. Be engaged at least six months before you get married.

7. Believe in love at first sight.

8. Never laugh at anyone's dreams. People who don't have dreams don't have much.

9. Love deeply and passionately. You might get hurt but it's the only way to live life completely.

10. In disagreements, fight fairly. No name calling.

11. Don't judge people by their relatives.

12. Talk slowly but think quickly.

13. When someone asks you a question you don't want to answer, smile and ask, 'Why do you want to know?'

14. Remember that great love and great achievements involve great risk.

15. Say 'bless you' when you hear someone sneeze.

16. When you lose, don't lose the lesson.

19. Remember the three R's: Respect for self; Respect for others; and Responsibility for all your actions.

18. Don't let a little dispute injure a great friendship.

19. When you realize you've made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it.

20. Smile when picking up the phone. The caller will hear it in your voice.

21. Spend some time alone.