What I Want

In no particular order...

1. To become even more self-sufficient.  I like growing my own veggies, but I wish I had space to raise cattle for beef.  And pigs.  And maybe a goat for milk, if I could just milk her in the morning.  I want to make my own soaps, herbal remedies, and cleaning supplies.
2. To finish our house.  I'm sick unto death of living in a construction zone.  I'm sick of our ugly bathroom and kitchen.  And if the dining room had plaster walls and a pine floor instead of paneling and pergo, I think I'd swoon.
3. To be comfortable financially.  I don't need much, really.  I lived in my first apartment on $800 a month, and the rent was $400.  I can be frugal, and I'm a homebody.  But our car will eventually need to be replaced, and things go wrong.  So "comfortable" means having enough to save a bit every month.
4. To homeschool my kids.  I'm not sure how long I want to do this for, but I already hate the idea of sending Ethan off to kindergarten.  I hate how education has become so centered on standardized testing that it's more a matter of how much you can memorize instead of how much you actually learn.  I'm also not too keen on exposing him to all of the sex/drugs/profanity that it seems like even the littlest kids now know about.  I was sheltered, with the added bonus that I was completely oblivious to pop culture.  I didn't have a clue what all the other kids were talking about, and I didn't care.  I was perfectly happy to read my books about magic and dragons and ignore the world.  But I'm not sure that is completely normal, and I don't expect my kids to be the same way.  So, I want to give them a good foundation at home before allowing the rest of the world in.  I also want them to have the freedom to explore topics in greater depth than what happens in most schools, to really learn about topics instead of just skimming over them.
5. To buy a house and land further away from town.  I want to have room to roam away from pavement, cars, and other people.  We've toyed with the idea of building our own home, possibly from strawbales, and I think that would be the ultimate accomplishment.
6. To stay home from work to raise my kids.  I'm fortunate enough to have family who can watch Ethan, so I don't worry about leaving him.  And I have a job that I love.  But I don't want to do this forever.  Being home feels like something I'm being called to do.
7. To have another child, so that the "kids" and "children" I've mentioned in the past two posts are real instead of imagined.
8. To take an exotic vacation.  Just one would be fine.  I'm happy going to the Smoky Mountains and to Sleeping Bear Dunes for vacation.  But I think it would be awesome to go to Scotland.  Or Italy.  Or Egypt.