Friday: Five Good Things.

1. That picture. And Kirsten being a new mom, and soon!

2. It is Friday, and tomorrow I am going for a day hike with lovely ladies who are just as excited as I am to frolic in the desert.

3. The sun is shining, Sunday holds the promise of a brunch in a garden, and I feel fine.

4. May Real Simple is here. I plan to spend some time reading it cover to cover in the very near future.

5. No-eating-out-challenge. I self-imposed a Jeff/Jennie challenge of No Eating Out (at the very least for dinner) for 2 weeks. It is day 3. We’ll see how that goes. The idea behind it is this: Jeff and I tend to eat out, and eating out costs a lot of money. It’s weird that in a restaurant, you’ll spend $8 or $12 on a salad, but in the grocery store, I have Catholic guilt if I spend $3 on berries. On BERRIES, people. Why is it that I will spend on whatever when it’s probably LESS healthy for me, but I can’t splurge on those things that make me feel better? I aim to find out just how much I will gain from not eating out. (Or maybe, how much I will lose.) This will also help us with our “Low-sodium” diet, which has been brought on by Jeff’s potential for high blood pressure.

Who’s with us? Can you do the 2-week challenge?

Got a pack of cards, Obama on audio tape, and my fave boy…

Guys: I leave today on vacay to a cruise. In the Bahamas. With Jeff. and his family. I am so excited. I am excited to have a vacation that is a real vacation: not being home (although I love being home), not visiting people who I miss (and miss me too), not driving, not in charge. I cannot remember the last time I went on vacation to somewhere that wasn’t to visit someone. I think it might have been when I was in high school and my family and I went to San Francisco.

We went to the Galapagos, too, but that was with my dad’s work. Going to San Francisco was the last time that my vacation was about seeing something new, being with people you love, and not, you know, cleaning up the kitchen when we were done.

In college, every break was to home, to Jeff, to babysit. The past two years, I’ve been on a cross-country road trip, I’ve been to Michigan countless times, Chicago, New York, Washington state, China, San Francisco. Every vacation I take is amazing: but all tiring. All work. This one, this is about relaxation. This is about having a good time. This is about the sun, the sky, the water, rest. I will sleep. I will read. I will listen to Obama. I will love Jeff. I will shop, I will visit new countries. I will enjoy Jeff’s family. I will come back tired. I will be rejuvenated. I will be ready for: Pittsburgh, Connecticut, and Chicago. I will be ready for weddings, for red eyes, for family, for babies and for loving.

What are all of you doing for vacations this year? Are you going abroad? Staying home? Visiting friends? Perhaps, visiting me? Picking strawberries on a remote farm in Vermont? Do tell!