Outside my window::
it was really sunny and blue skied earlier, but now it's clouded up. Might rain later?
Wearing::
Jeans and a Boden striped top. I love these things.
In the CD player:
Audrey Assad's Inheritance.
Dinner:
Chicken piccata with herbed basmati rice. There's not a lot of cooking going on this week since I'm leaving on Saturday for LA. I'm basically trying to use up all the perishables.
On my mind::
LA. Packing, the taping, packing, driving a car around LA......all sorts of things. I'm working on iTunes playlists for the flight and books. It's a seven hour flight--the longest I've ever been on. So that's sort of exciting but also--gotta make sure I've got my reading material ready. I can't bring too many hard copy books because my suitcase is going to be pretty full, what with the clothes I need for taping and then the clothes I Need for a week in LA, plus things for the beach and Disneyland (and all that). I'm generally a pretty minimalistic packer--I can do a 3 day trip with just my Vera Bradley Large Duffel bag and my backpack. But this time it's proving sort of challenging. When you're going to be on TV in front of the entire country, it can inspire the Overpacking Tendency! I'm trying to rebel against that
Reading::
The Contemplative Hunger, Little House in the Big Woods (because why not), and my LA/SoCal travel books .
Fitness:
I have gone to TWO Barre3 classes! My first one was last Thursday, and I was very sore for the next day or two. My second was yesterday and that was a lot better--I mean, it was still hard, but I can walk today. :) I have my third class on Thursday. There is a Barre3 studio in Santa Barbara, where we're planning on taking a day trip, but I think I'll just "be on vacation"--and I'm sure to get enough physical activity in during this next week. The great thing about this workout is the modifications. I can't hold a regular plank for two minutes--but I can if I'm doing it at the barre instead of on the floor. (The skin graft on the wrist really cut down on the flexibility and strength in my hand and wrist area.) Modifications are awesome, as the instructor said yesterday--and I'm not the only one who takes them. Even better.
I have to fight against the tendency I have to not want to do things I'm not good at. Math is a prime example of this. I'm terrible at math. But Dad would tell me there were some areas, like algebra, where I really wasn't bad. Part of it was I just didn't want to learn--and the other part is, my brain doesn't work that way. But in this case, I have to realize that anyone who starts anything is not perfect in the beginning. It's that way with sports, art, writing, music--whatever. So I'm trying to be nicer to myself instead of demanding PERFECTION immediately.
Potential Travel Ideas:
This is what we've worked out so far:
Sunday: Mass, the Getty, LA Farmers' Market
Monday: Hollywood
Wednesday: Disneyland!
Friday: Santa Barbara Day Trip
I'm so excited to be going, and the weather looks perfect--low 70s. No jacket, no sweating like crazy. Win!
Writing:
I think I've reached the end of revisions on my 2014 NaNo novel. Now I have to go back and put a solid ending on my 2015 NaNo novel. And fill in parts of the 2013 NaNo novel.
And I'm still shopping the memoir manuscript. So, I'm not lacking for things to write, over here!