Renew

It's been a week of renewal around here, on a number of levels. It's January, the new semester is about to start, and I just got a bee in my bonnet to cleanse and purge and start again. Here's what happened:

1. I rearranged both bedrooms in our apartment. Last weekend I started asking TMH what he thought about this, what he thought about that ...in terms of our furniture. He was not so enthused, I think because when we moved in together we found a way to make it work for us and changing things around did seem a bit daunting. We had to purge a lot to fit together in one apartment but when we moved in that was just the beginning of the process. I realized from talking to TMH that he didn't really care that much, and I decided he'd be happy if I just did it. And he was! I knew it wouldn't be as complicated as he thought. I dedicated Monday afternoon to changing things around, starting with our second bedroom/office. His desk is now in there, instead of in our bedroom, which means when I wake up in the morning I don't have to look over at his big stack of papers. The office looks awesome. Both desks fit in nicely together and the space just makes me happy now. The moving of the desk let our bedroom become a whole new space. Less cluttered, more relaxing, and more space! I am still excited about it when I walk in there. The office is also less cluttered, and moving all this stuff around allowed me to get rid of a piece of furniture I have been dying to get rid of. Why didn't I before? Because it was storing a lot of crap. I have since purged some of it and rearranged our closets to fit the rest. It's liberating, really. We still have more to sort through/get rid of but it's coming together. TMH came home to quite a surprise! Don't underestimate Mrs. PMP. I really didn't take me that long and I am still admiring my handiwork.

2. I got a haircut... a drastic one! It was really cold and shitty this week and I woke up one morning and looked in the mirror and just was sad at what I saw. Long hair, dried out, way too long, layers long gone, just dragging me down. UGH. It was time. All last year leading up to the wedding I was in hair limbo, not wanting to cut it since I would likely do an up-do. I did, and I am still impressed with how well I did my wedding hair, but it just simply got too long. It's now super fun and short and cute and just...well, liberating! I feel ten times lighter.

3. I talked to my committee, got feedback from my advisor (which involves the writing of a new chapter, which clears up a lot of my writing issues) reorganized my timeline, and feel much clearer and more focused on what I need to do. Let's face it, I had hit a wall. I'm over the wall now (or I have pushed it out a ways, I should say) and reinvigorated! I can do this thing. It will happen in 2010. That's all I'll say at this point. I am feeling quite good about my work.

4. My semester job prospects FINALLY became a reality. By this I mean I have students, classrooms, set times, and the promise of money to teach TWO sections of my class this semester. Woo-hoo, go PMP. It's the little things, like classrooms, that make me happy. I spent much of the week going back and forth trying to arrange the classes, making sure they were going to happen, and wondering if the funding might get pulled out at the last minute. They are going to happen! Starting Monday. Yippee. I am hoping that the schedule will add more structure to my life, and even though I have more work to do this semester it is important work. I'll keep writing and I'll keep teaching. I'll keep pushing on both walls. We'll see. In the end hopefully I'll have a finished dissertation and a full-time job.

So here I go! Stay tuned.