1. I think that I can't quite believe we survived Cal's first week back. It was rough, I'm not gonna lie. Poor Cal is missing his friends and his work and, quite simply, his life in Richmond. It's hard to blame him. We ripped the band aid off though. Baseball practice all week (that helped), and lots to do this weekend. Fortunately his game yesterday (in 39º temps and 30MPH winds, thank you very little) was canceled. Fortunately for his parents, that is. He's slowly getting back in the groove. We all are.

2. I think I can't believe that today is the last day of Ditch Your Gear. When my friend Kim and I first conceived this class, we worried that there wouldn't be enough information for a full six-week course. We'd even considered a Saturday workshop before opting for a four-week mini course. Now, facing our last class, we still have so much to cover! I've loved every minute of it, and we can't wait to beef it up, clean it up and do it again.

3. I think I can't believe I spent some time looking at CAMERAS of all things yesterday. Gear envy can get you into trouble for sure, and we do have a lot of travel on the horizon. It'd be nice not to lug Big Daddy every where I go. I know a lot of enablers, and that's a problem. Dad, I'm looking at you.

4. I think I had to ask Neel last night if I overreacted last night when someone called us at 10PM to ask an entirely mundane question that could have waited until morning. "It's 10:00 o'clock at night!" I said. All she said was, "Well." This is not someone I know well at all (we've never met), and honestly, I was baffled that she called when she did. Did I overreact? (Neel says no.) How late is too late to call?

5. I think we're all ready for the weekend. It's been a long week, for sure. Re-entry + daylight savings has made for some rough mornings around here. Cal has baseball practice and he's walking in a St. Patrick's Day Parade (a HUGE tradition in our city) with the LG. Other than that, I'm hoping for a lot recovery time on the sofa. Movies, books, blogs. That's what I need.

1. I think this #40bagsin40days thing will be quite good for me. Neel and I are generally pretty ruthless about clutter, but as I said sometime earlier, it has been weighing on me. That clanking, heavy-petticoated Victorian skirt, you know. So #40bagsin40days is the brainchild of Ann Marie at White House Black Shutters. It's her Lent. MJ of Pars Caeli tipped me off, and I'm so glad she inspired me. I'm all about intention, and with clutter, sometimes intention is just the thing I need.

2. I think my scrappy little hometown seems to be coming into its own these days. Neel and I took advantage of our childless weeknights to try out several of the new restaurants in town, and they're really cropping up all over. We hit up Norfolk Pendulum, above, for lunch Thursday. Norfolk Pendulum is a butcher/sandwich shop selling locally sourced meats, cheeses, eggs as well as oils and salts and breads. Its exposed brick walls and roughly-hewn floors perfectly proclaim the vibe of rustic and cool. This is a place that celebrates meat of all sorts and treats it sacredly. That's a pretty good thing.

We tried a couple of other new restaurants in town, and I'll save them for another day, but recently an olive bar and a new produce shop have both opened up. These two things I am eager to check out. You guys hear me talk all the time about how restless I am, yearning to go. This place doesn't feel fun. It doesn't feel like a place anyone would want to visit. But you know what? When I look around me, we have a lot going on.

3. I think, tucked in the back of my brain, are thoughts I never thought I'd have. I had a conversation with a friend a few days back, wondering if blogging was dead. Dead? Hmmm. Well, part of me hopes not since I'm signed up to teach a class next term! (wink) What I do wonder, is has my relationship to blogging changed? Why do I do it? I started blogging to record my family's life and to have a place to process ideas and thoughts. It became a forum for photography, and at its deepest level I'm here because of the relationships I've developed. Of course. I was never doing this to brand myself or make money. I get the most ridiculous clearly-you-didn't-even-LOOK-at-my-blog--before-you pitched-me emails (I'm sure you all do.), that I barely glance at before hitting DELETE.

So why am I here? And more importantly, should I stay? My life is changing and my family is changing, but I would miss chronicling it. I would miss having it chronicled. Equally importantly, I would miss you. But lacking real direction, and sometimes getting caught up in the pettiness of it (and knowing that's not a place I want to be), I wonder. But enough about me!

4. I think we've had a great first few weeks of our Ditch Your Gear class. We discussed composition last week and sent our students out to study leading lines, the rule of thirds and my favorite, negative space. This week we'll play with some editing apps. I sometimes wonder about teaching a class like this online, but I'm not quite sure how to go about it. And when I dream my big dream I have a studio where we teach all sorts of classes and Annie comes to design it for me.

5. I think I can't believe how quickly we've come to the end (sort of) of the General Assembly Session. Cal's time there, sadly, is done, but there still seems to be some wrangling over the budget. Cal would, I think, gladly volunteer to stick around and help out! We go up today to watch the Mock Session where the Senators act as Pages and Cal presides over the Senate as Lt. Governor and tomorrow morning he graduates. I have so much to say about all of this, and you can expect a full recap soon. Cal has promised to write us a post as well. He has so many great stories! All I'll say now is that I couldn't be prouder of my boy. Really, really.

five things, march 14

five things, march 7