Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--/ I took the one less traveled by, / And that has made all the difference. - Robert Frost

So. This weekend was rather fun. We went into LA with some friends yesterday by way of Metro. Which is the only way to go, in my opinion. You get to see the sights and smells and atmosphere for the city way better than just driving around. Then again, I tend to love walking around big cities so you can feel the hum of it, with all the people and cars and trains and just everything.

Had an amazing time there. We wandered Olvera Street, the Biltmore, wandered up to the Bank Tower (which is pretty awesome close up, btw! The architecture is beautiful!), went up to Hollywood/Highland, ate at this wonderful sandwich place that makes The Best roast beef sandwiches with au jous I have Ever Tasted. Hands down. We always try to stop by there when we're wandering in LA. We, sadly, forgot to check the time for the LA Library so discovered it was closed when we got there (and that it's closed Sundays and Mondays now. Stupid budget cuts!), so we'll have to try again sometime. I have this feeling I'll be trying to go during the school year to study and do papers and such. That would be loads of fun, I think.

So, I spent all of last night unpacking and putting away our boxes upon boxes of books. I think there were seven-eight boxes. I went through them, put some in a box that we wanted to keep but didn't need to put up (like old school books, that sort of thing), and then another box was the ones to give away to the Little Old Bookstore. Well, we now have shelves of books up that look amazing, a full box to take to the bookstore, and still have one more bin I just didn't get to yet to finish up. But it's amazing that most of the clutter of boxes in our garage was just all the books. Now we have some other odds and ends of boxes to deal with. I'm going to move my desk this evening (with Hubby's help, of course) into our Office/Spare Room/Guest Room. And get my area of it set up, at least. And cleaned up, that way, when Hubby is ready to do his stuff, it'll be pretty simple and easy. Without both of us needing to be able to spread out to clean things up and all that. I'm excited, it's going to look great!

I've also been eating better and decided that I wanted to walk to my lunch everyday. It's been wonderful, because there's a Panera about a mile away that I walk to and from 3x a week, even if I don't eat there, and it has this beautiful outdoor patio to sit at. I've started slimming up, which is nice to realize. And also the walking helps me muse and think things out that I need to without concentrating on driving.

Also, my Birthday is coming up, about 2 weeks away. I'm turning 23. Hubby is apparently Plotting Something. I have no idea what, but I feel bad because I was talking about my BD and he finally just said, "I'm Plotting! Quit trying to figure something out to do!" I'm rather bad at getting surprised, I guess. I'm looking forward to seeing what he comes up with.

Feels like I'm starting a new chapter in my life right now.... With where I'm going in school, where we're at as a couple. We're celebrating 2 years in 3 weeks, I'm turning 23 in 2 weeks, and we're both figuring out our career paths, so to speak.

Speaking of Life. Been doing a lot of thinking about what I want to do. And I've come to the realization that I honestly don't want to do much else (right now, at least) than get a degree in child education, do some preschool/daycare teaching, and be a Mom. That may change in a few years time, but honestly, right now, I just want to live my life. I don't want to try to follow some grand meta-narrative about how I ought to be doing this because that happened or this did.

(Now, to clarify, I have the utmost respect for people who are able to do a career and be a parent and have a huge goal for their life. It's just not me right now.)

And maybe in a few years time (or several years time!), I'll decide I want to keep going on with my career path. Or maybe I'll decide that it wasn't really for me and I'm content with where I am.

Hubby and I have been talking a great deal about this because of things going on in our lives right now and where we're at. And we're in agreement.

You know all what I want right now? A good job where I can work with kids. A good career job for Hubby who can stay there and not mind being there for the next 10-15 years. A house with a yard within the next 5-7 years. A puppy. And a baby or two. That's all I really want. And right now, that's all that really matters.

No needing to follow grand plans or schemes, no following some grand narrative of how my life should be. No. Just simple.

I used to not understand people who seemed to just live without seeming to want more than just a job, home, family.

Well, now I do.

And really. Is there anything wrong with wanting to just be a mom or just be a dad? That seems like a worthwhile lifetime goal, in and of itself.