Little Surprises

I got a package from my father this week. He’s always been one to give spontaneous gifts—not fancy stuff, just little things that let you know he was thinking of you. So it wasn't strange to find a box on my doorstep this week, even though I hadn’t been expecting it.

The box contained apples and pecans from his New Mexico property, dried chiles, and some raisins he made out of grapes from my aunt’s property. It was my first time to have homemade raisins, and OMG, I can totally understand why in ancient times they were a snack for royalty! So unbelievably delish!

It was fabulous to be boss-free again this week, although I’m still trying to puzzle out how I came to be in charge of collecting donations for the floral arrangement we sent to her father’s funeral. I didn’t mind at all, but it was just one of those situations that I would’ve normally handed off to an assistant but never got the chance because everything was moving so fast. And is it just me, or is it stupidly difficult to find appropriate flowers for a man's funeral? My boss's father was a retired colonel, and no way was I going to send something girly with roses or bows! I finally found something featuring mums and carnations in red, white and blue, so if anyone needs flowers for a veteran, let me know and I'll steer you to the right place!

I've been missing my old running routes this week, but with rain in the forecast, this wasn't the weekend to stray far from home. So this morning I peeked out the window, was satisfied at the dry streets, got myself all taped up to run, and as soon as I stepped out the door it started raining! But it only lasted a few minutes and I was able to get in a good run. I must’ve been wearing my “Ask Me For Directions” shirt though, because people pulling over to the curb and asking me how to get to certain campus buildings. I really must quit running around campus. Either that or insist upon extra compensation.

When I got home I found our neighbor had trimmed the bushes for us, as part of a previous agreement. Dan was supposed to bag the branches, but since he was helping a professor friend move and I was already outside and dirty, I figured I might as well bag the branches myself. Little did I realize that I would end up filling six bags! From the driveway it didn’t look like a very big job, but most of the branches weren’t in my immediate line of sight. Well, all that bending and stretching was probably good for me.

In writing news, I’ve signed up for the Seventy Days of Sweat writing challenge, partly as camaraderie thing with my writing friends, and partly in the hope it will be the kick in the pants I need to write a book that’s been in my head for over a year now, but that I’ve failed to get more than a few pages out of.

And with regard to my book at Lulu, Dan mentioned it to the head of the women’s resource center while he was on a support call Friday, and she expressed interest in having me give a talk. I’m very surprised by this. If she gets in touch with me, I’ll need to make sure Dan didn’t misrepresent anything to her. I do think I could give a meaningful talk on either the themes of my book or non-traditional options for writers, but that’s about as far as it could go.

Anyway, that was my week in a nutshell. My boss is supposed to come back next week, but since her boss will be out most of the week, we’re all hoping she takes a few days to work from home and get mentally caught up before throwing herself back into the whirlwind.

Recent Workouts
Sunday: 2 hour bike, 2 mile run, weights and core
Monday: 30 minute elliptical
Tuesday: 5 mile run
Wednesday: 30 minute elliptical, 10 minute row, core
Thursday: 45 minute spin, light weights
Friday: scheduled rest day
Saturday: 12.5 mile run