Today is the last day of classes before Spring Break – yeehaw! By some miracle (aka hard work), I am caught up on everything related to teaching and thus I will have no grading, planning, prepping, or reading hanging over my head for the next week. It’s a fantastic feeling.

While I am gone, this ladybug will be in charge of my office. I’m not worried.

CW and I are headed out of town on a mini-break of sorts for a long weekend — we’re going to visit the one and only Clarabella and her family! I am super excited, to say the least. I haven’t been to visit her since last Easter. I can’t believe it’s been that long. We are overdue for some late nights, long talks, and big bourbon drinks. Oh, and I guess the boys will be there, too. Heh.

Introducing your boyfriend to one of your best friends is basically as important as introducing him to your parents, am I right? And these two have never met before. Exciting. They are sure to get along, though, so I’m not worried — after all, they’re two of my favorite people.

After we get back from our little trip, I am have a few goals for the rest of the week:

• Visit the local bike shop and try road bikes in my price range; hopefully buy one. (HELLO, EXCITING!)
• Tune up my old bike and, if it fits her and she likes it, sell it to Brunbec. If not, list it for sale on craigslist.
• Do some fun novel reading for myself (currently just starting with Audrey Niffenegger’s Her Fearful Symmetry and a re-read of John Irving’s The World According to Garp; currently listening to Jo Nesbø’s The Snowman on audiobook during my runs).
• Do some more work on my Nabokov article and send it out if it’s ready. (ALSO EXCITING!)
• Play my ukulele; keep up with half marathon training; ride my bike.
• Have a girls’ night with Brunbec and whoever else may be around; have a couple of nice dates with CW.
• Clean house; do a Goodwill donation; do laundry; stock kitchen with healthy and cheap food; think about figuring out a grocery budget.

I’m hoping for some time that is the right balance of fun, restful, restorative, and productive. I mean, as long as I’m not doing beer bongs with a thousand strangers on some trashy beach, I may as well make the most of it.

(Title stolen from this poem I taught earlier this week.)