Fine and Mellow

It is Day Four of my official spring break and the Unravelling course. Today I didn’t take any pictures. Instead I went to both a tai chi and a yoga class. In between I worked on my grant.

I learned something really cool in tai chi. It is a two-person exercise and I think I’ll need to teach it to b so I have someone to practice with.

Working on the grant actually felt good today. I’m resolved to going slow and letting it happen. I am really enjoying Scrivener. It may be the new software winner for me (although I’m writing this post on MacJournal hoping to realize its merits). Scrivener is very versatile. It has all of the regular features I use in a word processor plus some really cool organizational tricks. I particularly like how it can break up and regroup text so you can focus in on a section at a time. It also exports very nicely to other systems so you can share your work (something that is crucial in academia). I also appreciate the 30-day trial that only counts the days you actually use the software. I highly recommend giving it a spin, if you are a Mac user.

Yoga was a lot of fun. After the great tai chi class, I wasn’t feeling another class and since I was getting good work done on the grant I was very tempted to forgo it entirely. However it was my favorite teacher and I hate to miss her classes. I went and was not disappointed. We worked on a lot of chest-opening and deep breathing exercises and I even managed to do a 90 degree, pre-handstand with a partner (the handstand-ready postures freak me out a bit and I’m a very long way off from ever doing an actual handstand). By the time I picked b up from work I was in a very fine and mellow place.

The highlight of my day, however, was getting an off-the-cuff call from Angel. He is having a fabulous time in Florida on his spring break. He has managed to stay out of trouble, enjoy time with his friends, and stay (mostly) within budget. He sounded so happy and pleased with himself that it just made my day.

Tomorrow b and I are off to visit Pumpkin for the weekend. She is very excited that we are coming and we are thrilled to spend some time with her and BB (who is flying in from his own spring break). Maybe I’ll take some pictures.

Trapped

This little guy flew into the gear room this morning while I was making eggs. It took him a while to find his way out but after butting his head into the window repeatedly, he finally figured out he needed to turn around and head out from whence he came. Goes to show, sometimes the best thing to do is to retreat.

Day Two

Phase I of RHP is complete. Our bedroom is now in Angel’s old room and our old bedroom has been transformed into a study. Phase II involves purchasing bookcases for the study so all of my books are currently in piles on the living room floor. I am looking forward to Phase III, where I get to rearrange all my books in said bookcases. The purchasing will occur on our drive home from visiting Pumpkin this weekend. The trip takes us right past a certain store.

Unfortunately the couch would not fit in the new study so Pupzilla will no longer be able to sleep by my side as I work. b says we can buy her a 2nd doggie bed, so she’ll have one in the bedroom and one in the study. Keeping the couch in the living room also means I don’t get my dream of transforming that room completely into a gym but sometimes a girl has to compromise.

Overall we have a lot more space although we still have objects without a home. I think the bookcases will help but there may be another piece of furniture that will need to be purchased. I just haven’t figured out exactly what it is. The laundry/storage room is now filled with stuff for Angel to take and I believe we’re going to have to rent him a van. Once that happens, b can transform that room into an indoor gear room/laundry room (he already has an outdoor gear room...he has a lot of gear). That will be the final phase, Phase V. Phase IV is the phase I’m really NOT looking forward to--the phase where I need to sort out all of the drawers and bins and going through papers and bills and old clothes. However I know I’ll feel good when it is all purged and organized.

On Day Two I also managed to take a few pictures for Unravelling. I’ve posted a few below. Once again, I DID NOT work on my grant (or do any other work-related work) but tomorrow I will be doing so in my new study.

My New Love on my Cleaned-Up Nightstand

Now I Can See the Backyard from My Bedroom

Cleaning Out My Closet I Remembered How Much I Love My Keens

RBOC: Spring Break Edition

• b and I had a truly lovely time on our anniversary weekend. We ate great meals, saw a fun play (Around the World in 80 Days), and enjoyed each other's company. Perhaps there was a wee bit too much drinking and b was fighting a cold throughout the festivities, but it felt both relaxing and invigorating to indulge ourselves for a while.
• I'm still working on that grant that I just can't get out the door. Grant revisions are a huge project for spring break.
• Another project for spring break is the bedroom swap/new study-library with a little bit of spring cleaning thrown in. I am finally going to buy a new bookcase (or two) so my books can have a home.
• Most exciting however, is that the Unravelling e-course that I signed up for (see nifty logo on the sidebar) officially starts tomorrow. Susannah Conway is the mastermind behind Unravelling and we are all excited to see exactly what she has in store for the course. Today everyone received access to the site and there has been a flurry of introductions and twitter followings. We are a large group (I'm not sure what our final numbers will be but as I type this 62 have already identified themselves on the site) and we span the globe. Welcome to all my fellow Unravellers. I'm looking forward to getting to know you all.