Thursday 13: Celebrating the end of comps writing

Words, thousands and thousands of words... In the last week, I've read, contemplated, written, erased, re-written, regretted and submitted a zillion words as part of my comprehensive exam writing process (see here for more details). I have one more loooong day tomorrow and then... CELEBRATION TIME! Unfortunately, the fun isn't exactly over because I do have an oral defense to talk about my work in a few weeks, but between now and then, I plan to rejoice. For this Thursday 13, here's what I have in mind:

1. Tasty dinner. Naturally, (yes, naturally, I'm Italian, remember?) I plan to celebrate with a SUPER tasty dinner tomorrow. Me thinks it will be a joint comps celebration and belated birthday dinner for Mr. T since we missed our normal fancy pants outing. We shall see.

If I can't find my grandma's recipe, I'll be using this one from
the Smitten Kitchen. (Photo from the Smitten Kitchen)

2. Homemade oatmeal cookies. I just dug into a 10, yes 10, pound box of oatmeal today. (My Costco membership is evident, yes?) In addition to enjoying raspberries in my cereal, I thought what better way to re-envision the primary C word in my life. C is for COOKIES, not comps!

3. Fulfilling hot date rain checks. E, M-5, Marm, Heathers, Em, this means YOU!

4. Cute trainer dude. Dear Jared Elarmo, expect a phone call next week. Really, this time. Shawna needs her hotness back. Or more to the point, she needs her pants to fit and her cholesterol to go back down. Ah hem.

Sadly, I don't think that praying mantises come
with winter gardens. Boo. Photo by Moi.

5. Winter garden outline. Fading cucumbers and falling leaves tell me it's time to wrap up my summer plot and start thinking fall and winter crops for the first time ever. Parsnips and beets are definitely a go. What other must-haves are there for a squash hater?

6. Yoga time. Oh deep pranayama breathing and tree poses and sweating like a pig, how I've missed you. Hot yoga will re-commence sooooon.

7. Sky Ops and other projects. As I've devoted so much time to comps, my other projects have fallen by the wayside. I can't wait to get back to my "spy story"/autoethnography of my Southwest 812 experience, and half a dozen other pieces in the hopper.

8. Gratitude blog series. As an outgrowth of my "happiness" class (see here for details), I'm thinking that a weekly gratitude post is in order. This accomplishes two happiness goals... blogging and expressing my extreme thanks, wonder and awe at the world and the folks in it. Yay!

9. Front yard maintenance. Tippy trees, drowning shrubs, dying grass, help is coming soon, promise!

10. Solving the mystery of Melisande. While I recognize that only one semi-regular blog reader will get this reference, I can't wait to buy the fourth book in an Odyssey-like series that I started last year. Bonus, since I typically only read for fun at the gym, this means more impetus to exercise.

What? Another excuse to show off fabulous photos by Beth
Baugher of True Love Photo? Couldn't help myself.

11. Grilled polenta. Since our BBQ is up and running, I've been fixated on grilling polenta like the North State Cafe in Ukiah, Calif. Crispy on the outside, creamy on the inside and smothered in pineapple chutney. To. Die. For. (I miss you, Jendi!)

12. Returns. Must to be visiting Target, Lowes and Ace Hardware to return items that have been cluttering my counter for, um, months.

13. Wedding dress divestiture. I've been meaning to put my gorgeous frock on Craig's List since last Fall. Although I'm terribly sentimental, what good is having a wedding dress take up space for eternity? Anyone in the market for a princess dress with a 6-ft train? Cheap, cheap, I swear.

xoxo!
shawna

Seriously, someone buy this dress. Street size 8,
worn once with love, French bustle, no other
alterations, great condition. Email bluestmuse at gmail.