Looking Forward

I thought about doing a post about all we'd done in 2011 and while I love looking back on the year we've had (celebrating our first anniversary, wonderful trips to Maine, kayaking adventures, a good year at school), I decided instead to look forward to what we're anticipating in 2012. So here's what we're looking forward to in the year ahead:

:: A puppy!! We've put a deposit on a lab puppy with a breeder in Epsom and are eagerly waiting for our puppy to arrive in the spring. We've put in a request for a yellow male, but we're also open to whatever puppy is best for us. The mama dog is being bred this spring and we can't wait for word that the puppies are on their way. We've been dreaming of a dog for a while and are definitely ready to expand our family.

:: A new apartment. The possibility of a puppy means its time to find a new place to live (we can't have a dog in our current apartment). We'd love to find something on the first floor so I can have my piano (and so it will be easy to take the puppy out) and we'd ideally like to stay in Concord, so we're keeping our fingers crossed that we'll find something great when we start looking in the spring.

:: "Our" land. We are desperately in love with a tiny piece of land on Georges Pond and are trying to save money to make it a reality for us. Anyone want to loan us $10,000 for a down payment?? Did you know you have to put down 20-35% when you buy land? Crazy!! We met with a real estate agent and looked at the land when we were in Maine for our anniversary in October and have been dreaming about our land ever since then. We spent most of October talking with mortgage brokers and banks and basically finding out that we can't proceed with anything until we have $10,000. So, we're saving and crossing our fingers that the land will still be for sale when we finally have the money to make an offer.

:: Celebrations. Two of my best friends turn 40 this year and I'm looking forward to celebrating with them both. Sarah's 40th birthday "Girls Weekend" will be in Boston in May and Michelle Upstairs, Karisti and I are planning to meet in Vegas in July to celebrate Karisti's 40th.

:: Traveling. We've going to spend April vacation in Nova Scotia with Rick and Cindi and we can't wait! It should be a fun road trip and we're really looking forward to it. And hopefully we'll make it to Berlin in 2013, but that will be part of next year's post... :)

Happy New Year my dear friends! Sending you wishes for a wonderful 2012!