"Little Lion Man" by Mumford and Sons

I feel like this song describes a lot for me right now. I love Mumford and Sons and this song is absolutely amazing.

14 days, 14 years

As of today, there are only 14 days until Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II comes out. Yes, I will be seeing it at midnight. Yes, I will cry.

I've grown up with Harry, Ron, Hermione, Draco, Luna, Hagrid, Snape and the rest of Hogwarts. The first book came out 14 years ago today. This has been my childhood. I've grown up with all of them, I've seen them grow up. I received the first book on my seventh birthday from my brother, I guess we can all blame him for me turning into a Potterhead. I remember all of the times growing up when I wanted to escape from the life I had and the hand I was dealt that I would grab The Sorcerer's Stone and start from the beginning. Evey time we would move (and being a military child, that was quite frequent), I would read them all again.

And now, the last moving is coming out. I feel like a huge part of my life is over.

Yes, that may seem dumb, but it is what it is. I will always remember growing up as a child with Harry Potter. For those of us that have grown up with Harry, I don't think it will ever be over.

Thank you, J.K. Rowling.

Should I have kids?

I'm going to get back on track with the actual serious posts I was planning on writing. I know the past couple posts have been a little off topic from the things I did want to talk about, but I'm going to get back to what I was talking about now.

This is a touchy subject for a lot of people, women especially. A lot of women feel like not wanting to have a child is somehow wrong. When people find out that I have absolutely zero desire to reproduce, they think that there's something wrong with me, it's a phase or I'm just saying it. I'm not. I have no desire to have kids. For as long as I can remember, I haven't wanted to have any children.

I'm still young. I'm in my early (very early) twenties. I see no reason to rush into having a child. There is more to life than procreating. I'm recently married. I want to enjoy being just married. I have a job. I want to focus on my career. I love shoes. I would rather spend my money on shoes than on a baby. I know that may seem selfish, but I think now is the time in my life to be a little selfish. If my husband and I want to travel or buy a car or something ridiculous, we can. Why should I rush into something as life changing as having a child? A lot of people seem to think that just because we're married, we should immediately turn our focus to children. Why?

And since I've learned more about the world we live in, I'm even less inclined to have a child of my own. When you can read about the thousands and thousands of children that are starving, homeless, abused, neglected and whatnot, what makes me think I should be so arrogant as to assume I should bring one of my own offspring into this world and not try to help these children? Should I not try to focus my time and energy on trying to help the children that are out there currently in the world rather than being so focused on having something that is "mine" out there? If I were to adopt a child, it would be my child. I would raise it. I would teach it. I would care for it. Does this not make the child my child?

I want a puppy. I don't have time for a puppy. I know that a child is much more work than a puppy. So if I can honestly say I don't have time for another pet, what makes me suitable to have a child that I have no time or energy for?

I did it!

I have a pixie cut!! I've been waiting for it for at least six months now, and it's done! I love it! Not only is it super easy to style, but it's a lot cooler than longer hair. And that's important when you're dealing with 100+ weather in Dallas. I know this isn't the greatest picture, but it's the one I took on my phone as soon as I got home from the salon on Friday.

Today is the day!

Today is the big day! I'm getting my hair cut today!

I'm pretty excited to get it done, a little nervous, too. But mostly excited. I've never had hair this short, so I'm hoping that it looks good. If it looks bad, I'm expecting everyone to tell me that it does look good. And, if I hate it, I will be buying hats. Lots and lots of hats.

Deathly Hallows Part II

Tickets have been released for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II. Don't forget to buy your tickets. I will be going to the midnight showing, you should to. This is a movie you don't want to miss.

Should I buy a house?

The simple answer to this is no, I shouldn't.

People have a preconceived notion of things they should be doing. Buying a house, living in the suburbs, having children, having a picket fence, these are things that we are taught from the beginning to think we should have. But why? Is this really the smart thing for us to do? Do the same values that led people to have these beliefs still hold true?

No. On all accounts. At least, from my perspective. And it doesn't work for my lifestyle, and most likely never will.

Buying a house is one of the biggest decisions you will ever make. You are (in most cases) going to sign a mortgage that will be for at least 30 years. This means you should be devoted to living in that house, working in that area for at least five years. Most people I know can't be too certain of their future with a specific job for that long. Is your company going to continue to grow? Will they require you to relocate? Will they have to downsize? Are they always going to be as stable as they are now? Most of these questions are impossible for you to answer. In my case, I know that I get tired of living on one place for more than a couple years. Part of this is due to the fact that I grew up as a military child and was constantly moving, so I like to be able to start fresh. Not necessarily to a new state, but at least to a new home. I get tired of being in the same place for extended periods of time and I need a change. So does it really make sense for me to sign a mortgage for 30 years when I know that I will not be living there for more than five? For any person that has a job that requires them to relocate, does it really make sense for them? And as depressing as it is to think about, people aren't going to work for a company for their entire life. Do we really want to lock ourselves into only one small area of potential jobs by owning a home? 

The experts all say that real estate is a good investment, but we all saw what happened to the housing market in 2008 when houses that people bought at $500,000 suddenly were only worth $200,000. Yes, part of that is due to the facts that banks and people got greedy. People bought houses they couldn't afford, banks were lending money they didn't really have to people that couldn't pay it back. And BOOM. The crash hit. Houses were almost worthless. So no, the housing market is not the safe place it was once thought to be. Small changes can have a big impact and the house you bought for $500,000 can suddenly lose more than half of its value, even if you did nothing wrong. Yes, there is risk with any investing, but is it really the smartest decision to believe the tactics of real estate agents that talk about how houses will only go up?

People look down on renting, but is it really that bad? People tend to think of renting as something you do in your youth, before you "grow up". Owning a house means that something is actually "yours". It is your home. But wait... That mortgage you signed, that means the bank owns it. So, really, you're just choosing to rent from a bank as opposed to most landlords. And where as with actually renting a house/apartment/condo/box on the corner, the landlord is going to do all of the large upkeep, this is now your job. You now have to worry about landscaping, especially if there's an HOA involved. You now have to worry about electrical problems. You now have to worry about plumbing. You now have to worry about climate control. You now have to worry about structural problems. You now have to make sure the roof over your head doesn't blow away in a terrifying storm. Then there's the taxes... I know how much everyone loves paying their taxes, so people wont be too upset when they find another tax bill in their mailbox. You also have to pay more for your insurance. Yes, most people are required to have renter's insurance, but the rates are almost nothing for the security of knowing your belongings are safe. For a house... Not so cheap. But hey, at least when you own a home, it's yours. Oh that's right, it's not. It is the bank's house.

I don't know where I will be in ten years. Hell, I can't say where I'll be in a year. Will I still like my job? Will my job still like me? Will my husband still have the same job? Will he be in the same city? Are we going to want to live in the city for the rest of our lives? Is the housing market going to recover? Are we going to be in a place in our lives to buy a house? I don't know.

But I like that. I like not knowing. It makes life more interesting.

Should I?

Now that we've gotten married, I've had a lot of people begin telling me a variety of things that we should be doing. We should buy a house. We should have children. We should know our life plan for the next ten-fifteen years. I don't know why people feel like I need to have their advice, but apparently they think I need it.

My next couple of posts will relate to two of the biggest things I keep hearing about: a house and children.

I have no intention of buying a house in the next five years. I also have no intention of having children in the next five years. And soon, you will all know why.

Our Wedding Pictures Are In!

Well, our wedding pictures are in! And, I think we all look pretty great. I'm only going to post a couple of pictures for you all to take a quick look at, if you want to see them all you can visit the website HERE. Just send me a quick message and I"ll get you the password.

Quelqu'un M'a Dit

This song is amazing. I've been listening to Carla Bruni all day and for most of the week. Give it a listen, your ears will thank you.