The Christmas drinks are in the coffee shops. I have opinions. I can't understand the obsession with salted caramel. I mean, I quite like the contrast but it's in all the things now and I grow tired. I don't like black cherry either, nor mint particularly and I'll not mention the curse of pumpkin spice. I got through October with Apple Cinnamon tea (one of the tea pig brand) and it was delightful - not too acidic as many fruit infusions can be, nor laden with the root of all evil (also known as liquorice). But we've transitioned from Autumn drinks to winter drinks and Spiced Berry tea doesn't have the same appeal. So then there's hot chocolate orange which is the regular hot chocolate with a splash of orange syrup and it's OK...but when done right a good hot chocolate is a thing of delight. And no matter what your milk requirements are - soya, nut, cow or oat, and your chocolate choice of white, milk, dark, no sugar, it's a possibility.
So this week, what brings you a small moment of delight? Perhaps it's one of those moments that make you feel reconnected to something you mentioned last week. Perhaps it's a seasonal beverage that you'd forgotten how much you love. Perhaps it's the discovery that there's such a thing as no added sugar milk chocolate.
Amstr (brought over)
-catch up on MF goal (3000 words)-submit to 5-7 agents-menu plan/grocery shop-get hallway cleaned; schedule some time for dreaded house project
Contingent Cassandra
--get the #$@! course description done.
Dame Eleanor Hull
1) Self: daily gentle exercise and stretching in 2-3 small
chunks, enough sleep, work on at least 2 languages, do the necessary cooking so
I can eat safely.
2) Research: 7 hours on main project, focusing on product. 3
hours on translation.
3) Teaching: edit one assignment, grade two more (at least
start).
4) House/Life: tidy/organize in the basement.
5) Remember my session goals: Live with uncertainty and work
the process.
Elizabeth Anne Mitchell
Keep up with NaNo.
Five hours a week on the book.
Work on the grant 1 hour a day.
Finish one of the stockings.
Pick one writing project and begin to outline it.
Tai Chi for ten minutes a day.
Respond to other participants.
Good Enough Woman
1) Have one or two activities just with my son.
2) Write everyday for at least five minutes.
3) Finish one stack of essays by Thursday and another stack
by Sunday (not sure about the second stack b/c I'm on kid duty all weekend, and
I want to focus on them, but it would be good to make that progress).
4) Walk 2x, even if the walks are short.
5) More progress on Christmas list for extended family.
6) Read a few pages of the rejected article (former diss
chapter) that I think I want to resubmit just to see how it makes me feel.
7) Do fun things with the kids this weekend so it feels at
least a little bit special (husband will be out of town).
heu mihi
1. Get to 24k words of NaNo novel.
2. Read ch. 2 of dissertation--or at least half of it. (It's
60+ mostly-single-spaced pages.)
3. Remaining prompts for undergrad papers.
4. Read up to Thanksgiving in upper-level class; through
Monday for lower-level ones.
5. Meditate x 3.
Oh, and: Run x 3!
humming42
1 finish another book review
2 contact other person for blog post
3 update reading lists
4 draft outline framework for Perform paper
JaneB
1) keep up the good practices around evenings-and-mornings,
and get off my phone earlier
2) look over where GallimaufreyReviewPaper is up to, and
email an update to everyone to check in
3) Take one small BlackSummerProjectPaper action
4) make hopefully final edits to
GrantINeverShouldHaveStarted
5) design poster for SocietyTHing
6) Spend an hour on ProblemChild3's text, and make contact
with FormerPDF to divide up the work on the figures that needs doing.
6) enjoy NaNoWriMo
7) get a couple of weeks ahead with class stuff - complete
last batch of lab reports which arrive tomorrow, sort out class datasets and
copy handouts for the next set of labs, chase up the TAs, go over class data
and check on the progress of all students.
Waffles
1. Try to finish draft of F32 paper
2. Submit IRB
3. Really work on the PTSD intro this time.
4. More work on the review
5. Summarize YRBS findings.
I normally wait to check in if I've written the post, planning to return in a day or two. And then it's the following weekend and I haven't checked in.
ReplyDeleteI think I've gotten to the stage of semester where I can dare to set TLQ goals again and not risk feeling like an abject failure if I don't achieve some of them.
Goals for the week:
1. Finish marking big assignment
2. Apply for supplementary role
3. Make initial enquiries about science communication activity
4. Writing for 30 mins each day
5. 2 hours of research
Am in complete agreement about the Root of All Evil. Nasty stuff. Ruins tea. And anything else it touches.
DeleteMe too. Why anyone eats licorice has me entirely befuddled. (And anise cookies likewise.)
DeleteApparently licorice/anise flavors are a polarizing issue. I like them very much (springerle are one of my favorite Christmas cookies, and not just for the pretty pictures).
DeleteBut I sympathize with the nasty surprise of finding something one doesn't like lurking in a blended tea that seemed promising.
Topic: I think fall foliage counts for me, and also all the various other interesting things that fall from trees onto the ground at this time of year: acorns, pine cones, other structures that hold seeds, even the small branches covered with lichen, and disconnected patches of lichen, that littered the paths at the facility where our church retreat was held last weekend. I tend to pick them up, and to remember that some of my foremothers did the same: my mother, who had some art training, was a collector and presser of colorful autumn leaves (including one gingko leaf, presumably Parisian, that I found pressed between the leaves of one of the books she read during her M.A. year in France when I cleaned out the attic of the house in which I grew up), and my paternal grandmother used to make the family stop the car along the marsh-lined highways on the way back from the beach so that she could gather cat-tails for arrangements that sat in the breakfast room all winter.
ReplyDeleteAll of the above reminds me that I really want to spend more time outdoors, for the exercise, and just to be there. And it reminds me that I'd like to get my apartment organized to the point where the fresh and dried arrangements I do create are a bit more visible amidst the chaos. Maybe even a terrarium with one of those pieces of lichen in it?
Goal for last week (what remained of it):
--get the #$@! course description done.
Achieved: no, but, like KJHaxton, I figure I'd better check in while I'm thinking of it, rather than put it off until I get that one task completed.
The coming week promises to be a very full one, with student conferences nearly every day (there are two such weeks coming up, separated, thank goodness, by Thanksgiving week, which will only have one conference day). The pastor search is also making progress, which is good news, but means making time for additional interviews, meals & meetings w/ candidates, etc. And the deadline for writing a grant for the next stage of the pedagogy project is looming. So I'm feeling a bit frazzled.
Goals:
--move a bit (walk at least 1x, weights at least 1x)
--get the most fragile bulbs in the ground
--get the #$@! course description done
--get 2nd book order done
--Make substantial progress on pedagogy project grant application
Seasonal drinks tend to look better than they taste... but the gingerbread syrup they have in one of the coffee shops at work is quite delicious with skimmed milk or nut milk (too sweet for me with full fat milk) and I'll probably indulge a couple of times this season. I'm still on a green-tea-with-mint line whenever I can get it - for some reason the easy to find teapig mix around here is mint and licquorice and I am entirely on KJ's team on this, the l-stuff is GROSS in tea :-( I ordered an expensive box online and am making myself a brew in my small thermal mug each morning, to take with me and enjoy the first hour in the office,
ReplyDeleteThe small signs of autumn and small natural things make me happy, as does the latest sign of cold weather (cat lies on my feet occasionally when I'm working, sighing repeatedly so I'll notice her). At this time of year, I get to work with the first light essentially, and I walk v e r r r r y slowly to my building, making a point of tasting the air and admiring the branches against the lightening sky and looking for birds and so on. Even if it DOES sometimes get me weird looks!
last week's goals:
1) keep up the good practices around evenings-and-mornings, and get off my phone earlier mixed, and fell off badly to the end of the week. Excelsior!
2) look over where GallimaufreyReviewPaper is up to, and email an update to everyone to check in oops, no
3) Take one small BlackSummerProjectPaper action no
4) make hopefully final edits to GrantINeverShouldHaveStarted no
5) design poster for SocietyTHing yes, two variants down, one to go
6) Spend an hour on ProblemChild3's text, and make contact with FormerPDF to divide up the work on the figures that needs doing. ish (more than an hour spent but not productively) and no
6) enjoy NaNoWriMo not consistently
7) get a couple of weeks ahead with class stuff - complete grading last batch of lab reports which arrive tomorrow, sort out class datasets and copy handouts for the next set of labs, chase up the TAs, go over class data and check on the progress of all students. done!
analysis:
as usual, teaching needs won over other things. I had a sluggish, fed up, don't-want-to-hate-everything kind of week, and ate badly, and that's a chicken and egg situation if there ever was one. So I've just made a large "pan omelette" to cut into slabs and take to work for lunch (protein + vegetables with only vegetable carbs is much better for lunch than a sandwich, but much harder to get on campus!) and put in a grocery order for delivery tomorrow evening full of lazy meal components (e.g. prepared vegetables, sauces etc.) which I know work for me and several kinds of sugar free snacks (I feel bad about the packaging of pre-packaged snacks, but I also feel physically bad if I eat the whole of a large package of snacks, or don't take snacks and eat sugary/fatty ones on campus...), and thought of possible "excuses" for not making a long trip for a very short meeting later in the week - we'll see how "slumpy" i feel. So... pick up and start over.
goals for next week:
JaneB
1) keep up the good practices around evenings-and-mornings, and get off my phone earlier
2) look over where GallimaufreyReviewPaper is up to, and email an update to everyone to check in
3) Take one small BlackSummerProjectPaper action
4) make hopefully final edits to GrantINeverShouldHaveStarted
5) Spend an hour on ProblemChild3's text, and make contact with FormerPDF to divide up the work on the figures that needs doing.
6) enjoy NaNoWriMo
7) stay a week ahead on class stuff
Seeing the word gingerbread inspired a Pavlovian response! I have a day later in the week when I may go sit at the coffee shop to write. I hope they will have gingerbread for me.
DeleteGreen tea with mint is my standard brew for iced tea (which I drink year 'round). I order it from Upton's, which is a U.S. mail-order company, so probably not the best option for you (especially since they do some of their importing through the UK -- no sense in a round trip).
DeleteOh so many small delights! Chocolate in my office. The drive to and from work (it's so pretty, especially when I drive down into the valley and it's full of fog). The view out of any window in our house--even in November when it's all brown and leafless. I'm lucky.
ReplyDeleteLast week:
1. Get to 24k words of NaNo novel.
DONE, and then some.
2. Read ch. 2 of dissertation--or at least half of it. (It's 60+ mostly-single-spaced pages.)
NOT EVEN STARTED.
3. Remaining prompts for undergrad papers.
One down, one to go (but I won't be giving it to them until the 27th, so....)
4. Read up to Thanksgiving in upper-level class; through Monday for lower-level ones.
DONE
5. Meditate x 3.
NOPE
Oh, and: Run x 3!
YES
So I can run, and I can read, and I can write, and that's all. There are a bunch of little things that I really need to NOT FORGET to do this week, though, and I might need to chill the f out on my novel because I'm spending far too much work-time on it. It's very likely not good, but I'm having fun!
I also went to my second kirtan this weekend, this time with a new friend from work. It was delightful. Being in the middle of beautiful music, helping to make that music, and feeling its vibrations all through you--simply wonderful.
This week:
1. To 37k on novel.
2. Run x 3.
3. Prepare for and give a little presentation on Wednesday.
4. Ch. 2 of dissertation, for real
5. Meditate x 3, FOR REAL. Maybe shouting at myself will help.
24K words? You are completely awesome!
DeleteRunning, reading, and writing sound like the perfect combination. (Well, I might sub swimming for running, but still. And I even did a little running this weekend.)
DeleteAlso, regarding the homemade shampoo: I have done this VERY simply:
Shampoo: teaspoon or tablespoon (I don't measure) of baking soda in one cup of water
Conditioner: teaspoon or tablespoon of apple cider vinegar in one cup of water.
Before I get in the shower, I put some basic soda in a measuring cup (I bought a plastic one for the shower). Then I use a little on my face every couple of days for exfoliation--no other face soap. The rest gets topped off with water and then I dump it on my hair and work it through. Then rinse. For the conditioner, I have apple cider vinegar in the shower, and I just put some in the measuring cup and dump it on my hair and work it in. Then rinse. It's quick and easy, and I've been very happy with how my hair has responded (although I might smell like pasta salad).
Every 2-3 days, I put a drop or two of tea tree oil into the "shampoo" because it helps my scalp.
Oh, and nice work on the NaNo! I think I need more practice before I can do that. Someone I follow on twitter did all 50,000 words in two days.
DeleteTo be clear: I hit the 24k mark, having started on October 26. Not 24k in a week!
DeleteAnd thanks for the recipe! I want to try it.
DeleteFollow up on the shampoo: I have found that putting the tea tree oil in with the baking undermines the way the baking soda and cider vinegar complement each other for the perfect ph balance. My hair seems to do better if, instead of adding the tea tree oil to the baking soda "shampoo," I, once every few days, apply only tea tree (3-4 drops) in a cup of water and massage that in, followed by rinsing with plain water.
DeleteAlso, I really like the way the skin on my face has been feeling. Every 2-3 days, I do some mild exfoliation with just a little bit of the baking soda, and then on other days, I just rinse with warm water and moisturize afterward.
Topic:
ReplyDeleteReading the posts here has inspired my sweet tooth. I am a fan of Andes chocolate mint candies, which remind of my grandmother, who would only let me have one. at. a. time. She taught me a lot about patience and savoring delight. I am also a fan of Terry’s Chocolate Orange, which my son introduced me to when he came back from Scotland. No pumpkin flavors, no spice flavors please.
There are, however, so many other delights. Waking up my birds in the morning. Hearing an old favorite song on the radio. FInding that a book on my list of things I really want to read shows up as a $3.99 Kindle deal (delight of the day today). I’ve tried to make it a habit or write down a delightful moment in my journal at the end of the day but have not been able to make that habit stick.
Last week:
1 finish another book review: yes
2 contact other person for blog post: yes
3 update reading lists: not yet
4 draft outline framework for Perform paper: yes
I have a long and lovely Thanksgiving holiday (no travel, no family visits) to look forward to week after this, so I will put off the updated reading lists until then when I can sit on the floor in my office and sort through the stacks of books there.
This week:
1 30 minutes writing/research every day
2 write and submit Signature abstract
3 set up interview with blog post contact
4 revisit Pink Research to see if it’s a viable project
As a resident of California, so seeing/hearing/smelling rain gives me great delight, and we had a bit this week. I also love persimmons (the fuyu variety), and it's persimmon season, and I have a bunch of persimmons, and I made persimmon scones on Saturday for my kids (well, mostly for my son and for me. My daughter picks out the fruit pieces from scones unless the fruit pieces are actually chocolate chips).
ReplyDeleteLast week's goals:
1) Have one or two activities just with my son.We had a nice walk together today, and we have an outing planned for next weekend.
2) Write everyday for at least five minutes.I missed a couple. Going to get back on the wagon.
3) Finish one stack of essays by Thursday and another stack by Sunday (not sure about the second stack b/c I'm on kid duty all weekend, and I want to focus on them, but it would be good to make that progress).Finished the first stack, have done about half of the second.
4) Walk 2x, even if the walks are short.Two long walks, and even ran some with my daughter.
5) More progress on Christmas list for extended family.Yes, even bought a few gifts.
6) Read a few pages of the rejected article (former diss chapter) that I think I want to resubmit just to see how it makes me feel. Not done.
7) Do fun things with the kids this weekend so it feels at least a little bit special (husband will be out of town). Done!
Starting to wonder if letting my dissertation chapters fester unpublished is part of my current paralysis. I think I should pursue publication of two of the chapters, focusing on them while doing just little bits of fiction writing until those two are sent off. NB: I will probably change my mind about this several times.
In general, I am feeling better. I think the shingles had more of a hold on me than I realized. It was also kind of nice to be on my own with the kids this weekend. That was rejuvenating.
Yesterday I went to a new (to me) coffee shop. It totally reminded me of my undergrad town in Oregon. I got a matcha latte with some vanilla in it and had a dulce de leche doughnut. I sat in the back courtyard partially because it was too crowded to find a seat - and partially because it was slightly nice enough outside to do so. I’ve been taking a lot of photos as I explore the city and have been posting them on FB. It’s nice to share these new things I am discovering.
ReplyDeleteLast week’s goals
1. Try to finish draft of F32 paper - NOPE
2. Submit IRB - NOPE (although I worked on it quite a bit)
3. Really work on the PTSD intro this time. - NOPE
4. More work on the review - NOPE
5. Summarize YRBS findings. - YES!
My week was taken up with admin tasks and 3 days of migraines - so I didn’t get much of my own work done. So, these goals are largely carried over.
This week’s goals
1. Try to finish draft of F32 paper
2. Submit IRB
3. Really work on the PTSD intro this time
4. More work on the review
Waffles
Migraines are horrid-my sympathies!
DeleteI'm glad you're exploring the city--it has so much to offer (says the person who hangs out in the same neighborhood nearly every time I go there!).
Apologies for the absence; conferences two weekends in a row completely wrecked me, and I realized I just had to come here when I got back from the gym.
ReplyDeleteAnyway: small pleasures? While I am made miserable by the days closing in, I take great pleasure in the sunrises and sunsets I see at this time of year. I get the magical morning light on my walks, and then I am often leaving campus as the sun sets, and it is gorgeous.
I love real pumpkin (soup, bread, pie), but why put it in drinks?
Goals from three weeks ago:
1. Read more of the book for review DONE, and review almost done (with multiple reminders not to review collections of essays EVER AGAIN)
2. Get started on my research project - NO
3. Move: walk at least three times One week yes, one week no
4. Enjoy myself at the conference. Two conferences, and yes I did
Analysis: My two conferences are the places I see my peeps, and very sociable, with different people. But I was very tired by the end of the second, and just catching up with cooking, laundry etc. And I have felt very heavy with all the stories of abuse that are circulating on fb and twitter. I know people behave badly -- they have behaved badly to me -- but it's just overwhelming. A colleague/former student posted something on Saturday on fb and the discussion had me paralyzed for the whole afternoon, thinking about lost opportunities, wasted energy, and my failures. So I'm trying to move forward in ways that are positive intellectually and personally. (First step was writing a letter for a woman colleague for a great honor that said, hell yes, she's more accomplished than most of you".)
Goals for this week:
1. Send off review
2. Work on R & R,
3. Write two more letters of rec
4. Expenses from conference
5. Walk three times
6. Continue not bringing iPad to bed/ disconnect from social media
I see sunrises more than sunsets, given the orientation of my house, and they are gorgeous--pink and fuschia streaks across a midnight blue sky. I don't think I could form full sentences after two conferences in as many weeks, so I'm impressed!
DeleteTopic: Despite growing up in the American South, and therefore not seeing snow that lasted past noon until I was in graduate school, I find a lot of small delights in the fall and winter. The fireplace has been pressed into service (at 42 inches wide, it heats most of the house), and I have placed a chaise longue right in front of it. I have some Apple Cinnamon tea from the UK that I am enjoying--finally convincing myself that I shouldn’t hoard it any longer--and I like mulled wine on the weekend nights.
ReplyDeleteI love fresh snow--the hush it gives to traffic sounds and the crunch it gives to passers-by’s steps. I love the smell of baking, which is entwined with the winter holidays for me. Okay, I’m a hopeless romantic about the winter, except when sweeping a foot of snow off the car at the end of the day.
Last week’s goals:
Keep up with NaNo.
Yes. I have managed to keep up so far. As I am a NaNo rebel, I am doing some editing, so it is not all new words, but I’m getting a lot of the structure in place, and writing scenes that may not make it to the final draft, but I’m having fun and learning a lot, so it is all good.
Five hours a week on the book.
Yes, mostly fiddly things like reading new articles that hadn’t come out when last I ran through the literature. But fiddly things count.
Work on the grant 1 hour a day.
Just squeezed out five hours. Other assignments intervened, sadly.
Finish one of the stockings.
Nope, although it is pinned together. Baby steps!
Pick one writing project and begin to outline it.
Yes, but I don’t have the attention span to work on another project right now. It was worth the experiment, though.
Tai Chi for ten minutes a day.
Only on the weekend days. Every time I started the movements, someone would come into my cubicle--every single day last week. I don’t care who sees me, but I can’t “move the ball,” while talking to my staff or my colleagues. Sigh.
Respond to other participants.
No, I totally fell down on this goal. I read everyone’s comments, and tell myself I’ll come back to respond . . . and then I don’t. I need to respond when I first see the comments.
As much as I love the winter, I do tend to slow down, so I need to work on taking care of myself, saying no to things I need to say no to, and allowing myself a few of the things I enjoy.
Next week’s goals:
Finish strategic plan (TRQ)
Finish group article (TRQ)
Plan presentation for the end of the month.
Keep up with NaNo.
Sew one stocking together; pin the second one.
Tai Chi for ten minutes a day -- before work.
Reply to other comments.
I raise my cup and wish a good week for you all. Excelsior, everyone!
Ugh, how is it Thursday? I am losing track of what I meant by various things, as grading comes and goes (mostly comes) and I don't know if I've finished what I meant to do, or something else. So "How I did" is approximate.
ReplyDelete1) Self: daily gentle exercise and stretching in 2-3 small chunks, enough sleep, work on at least 2 languages, do the necessary cooking so I can eat safely. MORE OR LESS.
2) Research: 7 hours on main project, focusing on product. FIVE? 3 hours on translation. NOPE.
3) Teaching: edit one assignment, grade two more (at least start). YES to edit, graded ONE.
4) House/Life: tidy/organize in the basement. NOPE.
5) Remember my session goals: Live with uncertainty and work the process. OH, YEAH.
New goals:
1) Self: daily exercise and stretching, enough sleep, work on at least 2 languages, do the necessary cooking so I can eat safely.
2) Research: 7 hours on main project, focusing on product. 3 hours on translation.
3) Teaching: grade undergrads' tp3, grads' kw2.
4) House/Life: pay bills, prep for Thanksgiving travel.
5) Remember my session goals: Live with uncertainty and work the process.