LinuxQuestions.org - Whereto now? (Debian, Gentoo, ..?)

I think I haven't been on this webpage for months... but I did install three separate Linux systems in the last days, didn't I?
It's strange I'm complaining, but installing Debian seems to have been just a little too easy.

I've been using Gentoo Linux for the last five years. At first I loved it, a few years in it got a little annoying. Today, I kinda hate it. I knew I had to switch distros, just didn't know what to try next. I'd been configuring and using Debian servers for a couple of years, got along kinda well, and thought I could give it a try on the desktop.
I think I've been in the process of installing debian for at least two years now, just never really got around to switching. Till yesterday.

So Debian wasn't what I expected...
What I really always loved about Gentoo was it's small size. A Gentoo system contains exactly the packages, modules and files that I chose and use. (Almost) Nothing more. At some point in every Gentoo installation I could configure my new Linux Kernel just the way I wanted it, with all the modules I wanted (build those that make sense into the kernel) and I could decide what software to install. What I ended up with was a very small and well-arranged system and, of course, a lot of Linux know-how.
When I installed Debian I was of course happy it was so easy and fast, but then I was a little taken aback by the size of the resulting system. So many packages and modules I don't need, what for? Also it thinks too much. Most of my hardware (like network connections) was automatically configured, though I never said I wanted that.
Then on top of that I'm a little annoyed by all the license paranoia. I want Firefox to be Firefox and Thunderbird to be Thunderbird, and I want to use video encoding software, and all that without deviating from the default system.

All that aside Debian is the best distribution I ever worked with. All that source compiling in Gentoo was so pointless, I'm glad that's over.

So what I'm really looking for is a system with a minimal installation, that leaves all the choices (and work) to me. All I expect of it is a nice packaging system (portage is my favorite, but apt-get is nice, too), and of course binary packages. Maybe some Debian offspring that's just a little more flexible and lightweight? I know there must be something out there :)