What I Did On My Spring Break Or The Spring Break That Wasn't

Today is the last day of my spring break.  I am not happy about this.  It is made worse by today being Daylight Savings and I've lost an hour.  Normally I either spend spring break on vacation (which means I come back rested but behind in my work) or I spend it working (which means I'm caught up--if not ahead--but tired).  This year I opted for the latter.  Unfortunately, in spite of working every single day (including both weekends) I am not caught up.  I may, in fact, be more behind than before.

It seems no one took spring break off and instead they all decided to generate work (and aggravation) that they sent to me throughout the break.  There were meetings, there were phone calls, there were emergency requests, there were large documents and they were all directed my way.  I am not happy.  I am in fact done.  Done with this semester, done with this academic year, done with drama, done with other people's agendas and petty squabbles.  It has not been pretty and it is quite likely to get uglier yet.  Luckily I did spend considerable time at the gym and took multiple tai chi and yoga classes. Therefore I am steadfast in my resolve to stay out of the fray, live in the moment, and do only what can be done.

b is traveling most weekends this spring, leaving me to my own devices.  Friday I drove down to see Angel.  His spring break was just starting and he had plans to go backpacking with friends.  I brought down a backpack, sleeping bag, and water bottles.  I also had a ton of kitchen items from friends that I thought he might want.  We had lunch and then took a walk along a greenway that was just completed behind his house.  He uses it frequently as a running path but that day we just walked it.  I love that Angel loves to walk.  It is his preferred method of transportation, as it is mine, and some of our best talks happen when we walk together.  Friday was no exception.

Today was the most beautiful day of the week.  Unfortunately I forgot about Daylight Savings Time and slept too late to make it to my yoga class.  Instead I quickly settled into a large pot of coffee and grading.  As the day wore on I didn't want to lose it completely and decided to take a bike ride.

This was my first bike ride of the season and from my new house.  I found an easy path to the nearest park.  There are plenty of biking paths in the park and I had a wonderful time.  There was a reenactment of the Revolutionary War going on throughout the park.  Between that and the beautiful day, it was quite crowded.  I'm not a big war buff or reenactment fan, so I didn't stop to take pictures.  However on the way back I passed an open cemetery.  I am a big fan of cemeteries, so I wandered around and took a few photos.  

Now it is back to grading and preparing for the week I have ahead of me.  

If I'm Baking....

...it must be Spring Break.

Cinnamon Sugar Pull Apart Bread

from here

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.

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.

Sitting Pretty

It is 3:45 pm and I'm sitting in SouthLite's swankiest hotel with a tequila by my side and my brand new MacBook Pro in my lap. Champagne is chilling. b and I have dinner reservations at one of the fanciest restaurants in town and will be meeting friends there for drinks before dinner. Tomorrow we have a matinee show followed by another fabulous dinner and night in the hotel (which is also one of the greenest hotels in the country). Anniversary weekend (and spring break) has officially begun and not a moment too soon as this morning was rather hellish at work.

I'll see you all on the other side.

An Evening With Angel

Sunday b and I drove an hour and a half each way to have dinner with Angel. This, it seems, is what you do when your child grows up, leaves home and doesn't want to come back. We picked him up, saw his dorm room, and met his roommate for the first time (ok, we did see last year's dorm room and meet last year's roommate on day one but this year is a totally different matter).

He took us to a local hangout and I helped him do his taxes. In true Angel fashion, he had forgotten to bring one of his W2s so we didn't get too far. b sat quietly as Angel and I re-enacted all our years of evening homework sessions. The next event was for Angel to interview b about his job. This was part of an assignment for his "World of Work" class. I tried to sit quietly but felt the need to throw my two cents in on a question or two.

Finally it was time for dinner, where conversation included Angel's plans for moving off campus. He has teamed up with a good friend and his brother and they've been looking at local apartments for rent. For some reason the brother needs to make this move by April so Angel will be moving out of the dorms before the semester is completely over. There was some discussion on how this will save us money in the long run, but I am doubtful.

I am strangely excited by the thought of him living off campus. When I moved out of my mother's home it was directly into an apartment of my own (with my then-boyfriend, eventual ex-husband). I learned and grew so much from that experience and I don't think that would have happened if I had been in a dorm room. For Angel I think 2 years in the dorm has been a good in-between step but I feel he is ready for more independence.

I thought it would bother me (and maybe it still will) since it is another strong step away from us but I can't really imagine him living here again. He has been saying all year that he was not moving back home for the summer and I am relieved. As much as I love seeing him, having him live here for a few months would be really disruptive.

As we were talking about his plans, I asked what furniture he'd need. He said he was taking his bed and dresser. I realized that, according to this new timeline, he'd need to do that in about 6 weeks. On the way home b and I started making plans to move into his bedroom/our study and turn our room into a much nicer and more efficient study. I'm excited about the idea and getting it done will be my spring break project.

I think I have turned a corner.

How is it....

after only one week off I can be almost completely caught up in my home life but completely behind in my work life?

Spring Cleaning

Spring Break has meant Spring Cleaning--or really Spring Total Reorganization--in the House of Dirt and Rocks. You see we recently came to the realization that we don't want to move anytime soon. Our original plan was to live in this house for a year--or so--while we figured out what we really wanted. As it turns out we really enjoy living in the middle of the city, where I can walk and b can ride to work, with restaurants, stores, and sundries all around us. We've also grown fond of this little house. It fits us well and we've been (mostly) comfortable.

The uncomfortable part was how we set it up when we first moved in. I felt we were not getting maximum usage out of the available space. We have also managed to acquire a boatload of junk in just under 2 years. So I was feeling crowded and cramped and decided we need to move around three rooms, clean out the attic and the closets and that b needed to build us a new bed (aren't you glad you're aren't married to me). I'm happy to report that we managed pretty much all of it (and got our taxes done too) and things now actually fit in the closets. Even the attic is neat and organized.

The bed is probably the most amazing: a platform with built-in bookshelves. Space for books has been non-existent and my books have been living in boxes in a closet. Finding a book I needed/wanted was not an easy process and browsing was out of the question. They don't all fit in the bed-bookshelf but with the reorganization I can get most of them out. It was great fun sorting through them all today and coming up with a new categorizing scheme for shelf prominence. Now I need the semester to be over so I can start re-reading.

Pizza...Or How I Spend Spring Break

I love to bake (much more than I love to cook) and baking bread is probably my favorite. Since it's Spring Break this week I figured I had time for "Make Your Own Pizza" night. The name is a misnomer as I do most of the making. B assembles at the end and Boy prefers me to do everything.


The Ingredients


The Dough

My favorite part of baking bread (or any yeast product) is the kneading. I just don't get the point of bread machines. To be able to feel the dough come alive in your hand is the most exciting part of the process. Ok, maybe eating it--actually I don't know which I like more.


One-handed Kneading (b wasn't home so other hand was taking the picture)


Ready to Rise

As I wait for the dough to rise I make the sauce:



I also do some writing on the "Grant That Just Doesn't Want To Be Written."

It seems The Brute:



and Pupzilla:



had other pastimes in mind.


Dough Risen

At this point I separate the dough into 3 pieces for our individual pizzas, wrap them, and put them in the 'fridge and I'm off to the dojo.



Hours later I return to find b home with our brand-spanking new tent set-up in the backyard (sorry no pics yet). We are very excited.

Back inside for cocktails and the forming of the pizzas:



At the end b and I enjoy the fruits of my labor:


(photo courtesy of b)


Boy, who is out for his first day of work at his 2nd job, does not make it home in time for dinner. I make him a calzone (his usual preference):



which he eats when he gets home at 10:30.

b and I stay up to watch "Elizabeth: The Golden Age."