Spring Break 2010 is over.....

Well, spring break 2010 is officially over.  I have the weekend to try to get back into "teacher" mode and then I start the final quarter of this academic year on Monday.

As some of you know, I started the week with lofty goals - some might even say that I set myself up for failure - but while I did not accomplish one-tenth of what I had hoped, I must say that I had a great time anyway.  This is the first break that I have not touched school work; and while I might regret that choice come Monday, I am thrilled that I allowed myself a mental health holiday.

I really didn't read much (although I am almost done with Walden) and obviously I did not blog much either (although I did read your posts each morning while leisurely drinking two cups of coffee), but I did do a lot of planning for my summer trip to Oxford.  I read/skimmed through several books on travel writing, I purchased several travel magazines at Half Price Books so that I could read the articles and look at the photographs, I purchased myself a Moleskine notebook just for my travel thoughts, I practiced taking pictures with my daughter's digital SLR in the hopes of taking some decent shots overseas, and I actually started writing down some travel story ideas.

The highlight of my week came today when I went to the local park to take practice taking some landscape photographs.  It was a clear day and the high was near 70 degrees.  While driving around the park I came upon this lovely picnic area that included a "private" island in the middle of the lake.  I was so excited!  I took my camera, notebook and pencil, and went exploring.  The island is very small, absolutely perfect for a quick get-away.  There was a picnic table, a grill, several trees, and enough grass to lay out a couple of blankets and read/write the entire afternoon.  I only stayed about half an hour, but I have promised myself to return frequently over the next few weeks (while school in still in session and the park is not too crowded).

Alas, this wonderful spring weather was not long-lasting.  By 5:00 this afternoon the temperature had dropped to 48 degrees, and as of now it is sleeting outside with a prediction of 4 - 6 inches of snow before Sunday morning.  Gotta love Kansas weather!