>It’s all about balance. Always. My balance for the just-begun spring break is part plan, part recipe, part goal/ to-do list.

Relaxation is top of the plan. Stressful job, stressful economy, potential stress at every turn of the newspaper page or channel change: letting go is important. Very, very important.
Keeping up with schoolwork is part of the break. Amigo has homework to do, too. Our plans include taking the long weekend (Friday, Saturday, Sunday) off from schoolwork, and then working on a little each day. When he’s doing homework, I’ll work on schoolwork.
Preparing the garden is part of my plan, too. It’s too cold to plant, and will be for some time, but I can start getting the soil ready. This kind of work could be tedious, but it’s not. It feels good to get the garden ready to grow again. There’s a definite connection between the garden growth and my own feelings of contentment and competence and calm.
Spring cleaning usually happens in June in my house, but I’ll get a few things done. Mainly, I plan to bake and keep the kitchen in good shape! Amigo and I often make a laundromat trip with all the blankets and comforters in the house. It’s an easy chore, but one that can’t be done at home because the blankets are too big to fit in my regular washer.

Progress so far: Spring Break R & R update, Friday
Relaxation — slept past 8:00 AM, stayed in pajamas until 11
Schoolwork — nothing formal yet, but laundered the old socks I use as white board erasers
Gardening — removed stepping stones and trellises and tomato cages from garden, emptied two pots of dead herbs & potting soil over the fence, took “before” pictures of garden to use for contrast when I finally reach the “after” stage
Spring Cleaning — scrubbed kitchen (easier than it sounds; the cleaning service was here a few days ago. I just maintain what they’ve already done.) Mailing another Paperbackswap package could fit in here, too.
Relaxation, part 2 — had a Funday Friday lunch with Amigo and Husband at a local downtown diner. I had their Greek skillet with hash browns; delicious. After lunch we walked down the street to a bookstore (an independent, no big chains) and bought a few books related to the city’s upcoming book festival. The pleasure reading from these will last long beyond the week-long break.

This break’s off to a good start, I’d say. Now I think I’ll take another relaxation break with my laptop, check Twitter and Plurk, read some of my favorite bloggers as well.