When my husband and I decided that it was time to purchase our first home, it was a really exciting experience for us. We took our time and looked through several houses before making a final decision on the one that would best suit our family.

As we had never been through the process before, we did not know what to expect. We were pleasantly surprised to walk into our home on the day that we took possession to find a gourmet gift basket and a beautiful plant, as gifts from the realtor.

It was a lot of fun decorating out home the way we wanted to, knowing that we could paint the walls whatever color we chose to and that every decision about the house was completely up to us.

We eventually had to upgrade to a larger house and I did feel sad to leave the very first place that we were ever able to call home.

With my abysmal success that I had trying to find a date in the "real" world, I decided to turn my attentions online.  It was a last ditch effort on my part, as I didn’t want to end up alone.  I knew that if I just posted a profile, maybe people were looking to find local singles might find me.

But I really didn’t know where to start.  When I did a search for free online dating sites I was overwhelmed by the number of sites that were out there.  There were more than a hundred sites and I didn’t really know what I should do.

So, I signed up for a couple that were directed towards people in my locale, filled out my profile, and just waited to see if anyone was interested.  The sad thing is that it took a couple of weeks before I heard anything, but eventually I did have some bites.  Sure, none of them turned into anything much, but I did make a friend or two out of the deal.

When my dad passed away, I somehow inherited his three year old puppy. I had never been a dog lover up to this point, but I felt somehow responsible for the little guy. I knew that I could not let him go to the shelter or have him go live with complete strangers. So, I packed up his dog bed, his food and all of his toys and brought him to my quiet little house.

Before too long, it seemed as though his dog beds and toys were taking up more room in the house than my own things. I was feeling bitter and sorry for myself, as I had always prided myself on having no one to take care of besides myself.

Eventually, Rascal grew on me and I grew to love him very much. In a way, he made me feel closer to dad. It was nice to know that I would have him to greet me at the door when I came home from work. In the end, he filled up an empty spot in my heart that I never even knew was there.

As my parents are getting older, I have found that they need more and more help around the house.  I know that my dad doesn’t like to ask for it, but I can see it in their eyes that they appreciate what I do for them.

So this year, we have decided to fix up their house before winter, so that it isn’t as drafty as it was last year.  In fact, their heating bill was so high that we really don’t have any excuse not to do the work.

I have hired a company that specializes in sash windows to come in and replace all the windows in the house.  They are a little drafty, and with new windows, we won’t have to worry about the cold winter wind getting into their house.

When the windows are done, we will still have a lot of work ahead of us including painting, cleaning and replacing their carpets.  It looks like it is going to be a long summer.

I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t appreciate telemarketing calls.  Sure, once in awhile something good comes along, but honestly, most of the calls I get are not worth my time.

Now, I don’t blame the telemarketer at all, I realize that it is their job, and I try to be polite when they call and explain that I am not interested in their offer.

But about two weeks ago, I had a bad experience with one.  The telemarketer called to offer me a deal on long distance and I explained that I didn’t make long distance calls and asked if the could take me off of the list.

Usually, you don’t run into problems when this happens, but the telemarketer started to swear at me and was just plain rude.  I asked to speak to his supervisor at which point he promptly hung up on me.  I tried to call back, but the line wouldn’t accept incoming calls.

At that point I used a reverse phone directory and found the address of the company and sent them a letter.  I received a reply in the mail today issuing an apology for the treatment and confirmation that I was removed from the list.

While I was cleaning the house this morning, I was moving some book cases in our living room.  Now, I don’t usually do this, but I happened to drop something behind one of them, so I needed to move them to get it out.

As it turns out, once I moved the book case and looked at the carpet that it had been sitting on, I was shocked - the carpet was a completely different color than the rest of the room.  In fact, it was at that moment that I realized that the rest of the room was really disgusting - and it needed a cleaning.

So, I went online to search for “carpet cleaning services Exeter Devon” to find a cleaning company that was close to us.  It didn’t take long before I did, and I will be giving them a call on Monday to arrange a time for them to come and fix my nasty carpets.

Quite often, when I find myself traveling, I feel disconnected with the world.  I guess it could be because I don’t have a laptop to stay in touch online.  In that respect, I feel like I am missing out on the lives of my friends.

But the one thing that does keep me in touch is my cell phone.  I made sure that when I bought it that it had wireless web connectivity.  Sure, I pay for it on my monthly cell phone bill but it lets me stay connected whether I am at work, or just away from my home.

I have been experimenting with this for awhile, and it seems to work okay.  The thing is I just need to find mobile websites that will display properly on my phone.  So far most of the sites that I like to visit offer some sort of mobile community on them.

I just love keeping up on the go.

I remember the time that I was hopefully lost. It was the first time in my life that I wished I had a GPS. I was unfamiliar with the city and I was trying to find my friend’s house, which I had never been to before. I drove around for three hours until I was so lost that I did not even know how to get out of the area I was in.

I was pretty sure that she did not live in the warehouse storage Philadelphia district and I could not even find a place that had a payphone so that I could call her. I just kept driving and getting even more hopelessly lost than I was before, if that was even possible.

I finally decided to stop and see if there was someone in one of the warehouses that could help me out. I did eventually find somebody and he informed me that I was on the completely wrong side of the city. He was nice enough to help me get back to the main thoroughfare and I promptly found a gas station and called my friend, who came and met me and let me follow her back to her house.

This time of year, as summer begins I start thinking about all the projects I wanted to do last year but never quite got around to. Of course as I do all this heavy duty thinking (don’t you love heavy mental lifting?), I do not have to abuse myself by staying indoors on a gorgeous pre-summer day. Not at all. I can sit out on the porch and let the breeze ruffle my hair and caress my cheek as I make my mental list.

First I want to create a garbage can corral for the front of the house. Right now the cans are pretty unsightly, not to mention that they don’t match, gasp! I need to plant some annuals in small containers for the flower hutch in the corner. Right now all I have is a dead lily, a deader African violet and a dying philodendron vine - Not attractive.

Most of all, I want to get rid of the non-working oven in the kitchen, replace the cook top with a stove, and install a new water system in the kitchen. I know there are more things I wanted to do, the breeze is so pleasant and my eyes are so heavy, I think I’ll just kick back and dream about the rest of my list.

I have found that I have been questioning my spirituality a lot lately. I have always been quite a spiritual person and I have always been able to find contentment in peace in my surroundings, even when things seem to be difficult and not going as planned.

I have always been very conscious of the spiritual nature of my surroundings, knowing that we need to be in tune with the earth if we want to live up to our full potential. The earth is our friend and the creator did not make it so that we could destroy it. I do my part in caring for Mother Earth and it hurts me when I see people that have little or no disregard for nature.

I have always felt a oneness with the earth, as if she were a part of me and I was a part of her. In her, I find contentment and peace.