I still feel like a little boy inside. I have a difficult time looking in the mirror and seeing a fully realized adult. I might have considered the birth of my 2nd child might have altered it, but I still seem to be in denial of the aging process.

In regards to aging — or rather fighting it off — my dear wife and I recently bought a brand new home and it has room in the basement for a home gym my wife has always sought. I’m seeing dollar signs when I ponder the many diverse things necessary, from the essential but oft-forgotten weight bench and mats for exercise to determining the most reliable stationary bike. A stationary bike can be tricky these days. Do you go recumbent or upright bicycle? Should I select an old-school analog or electronic?

Of course, my wife seems determined to get an elliptical machine as well. You understood that accurately. An exercise bicycle and an elliptical machine — not only one or the other. My guess is that the extra exercise equipment will go with the stretch mark treatment she started using after the birth of youngest daughter. Wow I’ll get it for that jest.

I must be careful with our budget because our new home is more of a diamond in the rough. We required it this way, but we still have to carefully budget every little thing, even the cabinet knob (no joke). My wife has an ambitious cabinet refacing design projected, but must remind her the bathroom sinks she wants put in shall cost a fair amount, too.

Gratefully, we both like the rustic, natural look, so we are furnishing our new house with natural furniture. Of course, it still involves some finishing, but she and I can keep our costs down and create higher quality furniture than we could purchase anywhere anyways.

I recently came across a great coffee table with some nice, raw knotting and a sideboard table in matching oak. For our outdoor patio we’re researching an outdoor fireplace and we’ll go with some budget wicker furnitures at first.

Providing for a new house might seem so mature, but I can’t help but sense I am just playing house. The exercise equipment and furniture merely feel like a new generation of toys.