A weekend of.....

"not much at all" has arrived.  I'm kind of delighted at the prospect as I feel really tired and a little rundown.  My cold is lingering but didn't stop me running 23 miles last Sunday....it's a loooooong way.  Nice though as I ran up and over the Golden Gate Bridge.  It's totally awesome to run over the bridge, the views are gorgeous and it feels so....American and San Franciscan!  I still delight in those days when I actually remember I live here.  In September it will be five years since I left NZ and I still feel like making the leap has been one of the best decisions I ever made.  It's definitely not easy to throw your life up in the air like that but I've had (and been having) some incredible experiences and feel like I've really started to come into my own. Speaking of....
Irene and I have hooked up with some real estate agents and have started the process of looking to buy a house.  We are aiming for a two flat property - combining forces means we get something more for our money.  If we can't find a joint one I'll look for something smaller - looking at the market I can buy alone but not quite as grand.  As always, the right thing will happen and it will all fall into place as it is meant to.
Fun plans ahead too.  Jo is busy planning her birthday next year (yuh it's a big one) and is planning a get together at Lake Como in northern Italy (near Milano). Totally gorgeous and I've never been to northern Italy.  Plans are well underway and rooms booked, yippee!  Shocking to think it will have been 10 years or maybe a little less since her last big birthday celebration where we all headed to Rangitoto Island for a picnic on the mountain top!  Is it totally odd that I am immediately wondering if I can combine the whole thing with running a marathon some place in Europe?  And just like that I googled....Madrid this year ran a marathon the weekend before Jo's birthday, and I've never been to Madrid (see how this works?).