Monday Morning Dreaming

If you are like me, Monday morning can be both promising and daunting.  Another week is starting, another litany of tasks and milestones is looking me in the face, my children have mixed feelings about leaving the comfy weekend nest and the remnants of a true Day of Rest did not magically disappear overnight.  
My favorite way to ward off Monday blues (that for me always start on Sunday night), is to spend a few minutes on Monday morning daydreaming . . . 
This morning's reveries found me in Paris.  

Wasn't that nice?!?  Relatively inexpensive travel within Europe makes a quick jaunt to the City of Lights really easy and really tempting.  These photos were taken last spring.  With spring in the air, albeit mixed with fluffy transient snowflakes, I couldn't help sharing a little vie en rose.
Now, back to today's writing goal:
Women in Purple: Helena vs. Pulcheria - Tomorrow's post will elaborate.

Trade Secrets!

For me, 60% of the writing process is organizing my research material and honing my reading notes.  The remaining 40% is made up of the "mental stretch" required to tie my conclusions together and psych myself into believing that I can actually eat this elephant one bite at a time! 

Due to unfortunate experience, I can tell you that procrastination never produces the best results.  The closer I am to a writing deadline, the more anxious I become and, sad to say, the more difficult I am to live with.  

I don't want Chapter 5 to sow seeds of resentment in my heart or the hearts of those I love!  

RESOLVED:

• I will follow my simple chapter outline and write about a single topic per day -- or maybe over a few days. 
• I will work on my chapter for two hours per day (x 6 days/week) in a consistent and diligent manner.  This beats 30-35 hours during the week before deadline.
• I will pass along my "work in progress" for others to review before I send it to my advisor.  (Particularly difficult thing for me to do!)
• I will not allow myself to become an ascetic hermit during the last week prior to deadline (Beg. of April), nor will I need to because I will be confident in what I have produced.

OK, I think I sound more OCD than I actually am . . . 

All neuroses aside, I will let you in on a couple little writing secrets that ALWAYS vanquish writer's block:

1. If you are bored with your writing or just generally so bored that you don't even want to think about writing -- do it anyway, just for 15 minutes.

2. Go somewhere else to write.  If the kitchen table or your desk aren't to your liking - go somewhere else, anywhere else.  (The public library, the study of a friend or relative, the park, a local internet cafe or bookstore).

3. Make sure you are comfortable -- I personally love socks and feel rather clever when I am wearing a pair of fun argyles or my luxe favs - cashmere (ok, cashmere blend).

4. Have a snack -- low blood sugar is never good for generating genius ideas!  

Note to self who loves to snack while writing: yes, celery and peanut butter is just as lovely as chocolate chip cookies!

How to Start a Chapter

I always take a couple of days to decompress after submitting a large piece of writing.  I don't even open Word on my computer or crack a book that doesn't scream !Fiction Sensation!  I do like to literally "put my house in order" before beginning another stint of writing. So, yesterday I dusted off my best domestic skills and vacuumed, mopped the hardwoods, organized a drawer or two, cycled laundry and even sorted out my own bedroom.  
It always feels good to have a tidy home.  I love an ordered environment, but it is sometimes incompatible with family life - unless you want to drive yourself to distraction by obsessing over every little object out of place or go around with a white glove looking for each speck of dust.  Honestly, with three kids I have had to learn to ignore some of the chaos in order to accomplish the necessary writing.  
I have actually learned to be creative in the midst of the frenetic pace of family life and I find that sometimes it helps to just allow the laws of entropy to invade my domestic sphere.  I mean check out Einstein's Desk on the day he died:

This picture brings me some solace - not that I am anything like Einstein - but I think it reveals something about a creative mind that can layer and rearrange, move beyond boundaries and still keep a personal focus.

So, today I will make my bed and switch the obligatory load of laundry and think about what to make for dinner so that my family won't go naked or hungry, but don't count on my desk remaining ordered for very long . . . 

Today starts Chapter 5 - Only Chapter 5 and Chapter 3 left to write.  Yes, even my chapters are out of order!  I won't begin by opening a computer file.  Instead I will start with my favorite clean slate - a clean sheet of lined paper and a pen.  

These tangible objects are old school, but I always start this way - something about a direct connection between the brain and the hand. Judging by the notebooks on Einstein's desk (granted, he wasn't working with my awesome Mac) this mightn't be a bad way to start!

Financial Aid -- Venting!

I will miss a lot of things about being a student - dealing with financial aid will not be one of them!

Foretold is Forewarned!  Before embarking on any educational endeavors, know that your financial plans will be disrupted, entangled and perhaps utterly decimated.  You must have a will of iron to battle through. People keep telling me that the investment will be worth it in the end.  I want to believe this, really I do - and maybe I will when I have a job in hand, but for today I am choosing to be a bit grumpy. 

The slow bureaucratic nonsense that bogs down the aid process will literally put you over the edge.  I hate to admit that THEY brought me to tears today!

I have been dealing with this issue for - I kid you not - FOUR MONTHS!  And, I am still empty-handed.

This year's particularly Hellish Nightmare has been brought to students everywhere by the letters Grrrrr and by the number 4 (as in months) and by the new changes to the US Dept. of Education's  Loan overhaul tacked onto the Healthcare Bill (double Grrr).

There are no further words suitable for a person of character to utter. 

Rest and Relaxation

Following a 4:30 am email sending my latest chapter to my supervisor for her review, comments and edits, I decided it was time for some rest and relaxation.  As this chapter is no less than 54 pages, my dear supervisor may think she needs a little R&R when she is finished reading it.


So, Friday afternoon I joined my daughter for some skiing at the world-famous Sundance Resort.  www.sundanceresort.com

I am not, in any way, considered a "Gnarly Shredder" and I would never "Hurl Carcass" down the mountain, but at least I can cruise along and even take in the scenery without a serious wipeout or bum bruising slam.  I just like to be on the mountain, take in the view, hang with my girl, sip some hot chocolate and think about something other than Coptic textiles, sarcophagi and funerary epitaphs for an afternoon.
There is no better way to revive oneself from the depths of academic purgatory (which, ashamedly, does sometimes include bouts of no showering and subsisting on cold cereal - coupled with pages and pages of highlighted text that need slashing edits, epic re-organization and logical transitions) than a pure white winter wonderland.  


And . . . if I am really going to disclose the extent of my weekend break from all things academic, I would have to admit to a little bit of retail therapy.  Thanks Jared for understanding that every Oxford Chic girl needs a little bit of high-style for the moment when showering and lip-gloss are back on the docket!
I found a great black and white houndstooth jacket - cropped with bell sleeves.

Not exactly like this, but you get the idea!  Just think Chanel on a budget (my budget)! 

My Oxford Ancestry: You may call me 'Your Ladyship'

Lady Elizabeth de Montfort is my paternal great grandmother, back 26 generations.  She married Sir William de Montagu 2nd Baron Montacute, son of Simon de Montagu Baron Montacute and Hawise de St Amand.  Her sarcophagus and effigy are in Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford next to that of St. Frideswide.  She warranted that honor through her donation of land to the Priory of St. Frideswide in the 14th c. 
Christ Church Meadow is the land that she donated and one of my favorite places on the planet for a stroll with the shades of the past -- my past.  

I don't know if you believe in the spirits of the deceased having access to the living - not in a creepy or scary poltergeist kind of way -- but in a pleasantly disturbing awareness kind of way.  If you do, then you will know what I mean when I say that I have never been more keenly confident of her presence than when I visit her final resting place or walk the meadow path. Don't worry, I always use my best manners, execute perfect posture and try to comport myself as a true and proper Lady.
It seems Lady Elizabeth is as interested in me as I am in her!  And, that is not unsettling to me at all, slightly overwhelming perhaps, but not unsettling.  

To Sleep or To Write, That is the Question!?!

Yes! I have been awake and editing Chapter Six (the death chapter)

since 4 am!

This is not only the curse of academics - or anyone really - who's brain

will NOT stop editing, re-writing, organizing,

But also the curse of an overseas student

who is not overseas!

I can't seem to reset my internal clock.  It just insists on Greenwich Mean Time!

I do occasionally have good success with

Melatonin

or

putting clove oil on my pillow -- Mmmm!

But, most of the time I am awake in the middle of the night.

Don't say it - I know I am really messed up.

I do have two sleeping luxuries that, when I do have a chance to catch some Zzzz

are my "favorite and my best"

SPALENA SHEETS

(You can order them from Costco.com)

and my Sleep Mask from Tempurpedic.

Both are positively DELISH.

Maybe I will finish these edits, get the darn chapter out the door and

TAKE A NAP!
Because dark circles under one's eyes are not chic!

(Herbal) Tea and Toast = Perfect Way to Start the Day

I am not a coffee or tea drinker -- unless you count tisanes or herbal teas -- and that

fact has sometimes been an oddity to my British colleagues!

However, I do start my day with either hot lemon water

or 

one of my favorite herbals from Harrods.

Lemongrass

Green Honeybush

Peppermint

or Chamomile

Boring tea . . . no way!

And, it is inexpensive!

So next time you visit Big Ben . . . stop in for a box.

Good to know, if you don't make it to Harrods in Knightsbridge, you can always catch the shop at Heathrow.

Speaking of morning rituals

I also have one - quite peculiar - 

practiced at the beginning of every serious stint of writing

• Clip  and file fingernails
• Fresh Nail Polish
• Fight Winter Desication with Lovely Hand Cream (Perlier, Honey Hand Cream is a Favorite)
• Write

As I must delve into patristic sources on death this morning - I had better start off with the right hands.

The Virgin Annunciate Spinning

ART HISTORY

I love art -- the objects themselves, the research, the environment of museums, storerooms, libraries and archives.

My personal interests and research forte happen to be

LATE ANTIQUE ART & Architecture

Basically, art that dates to the 3rd - 7th centuries - with some exceptions on either end of the spectrum: Late Roman art, Early Christian art, Byzantine art, and art of the early Medieval West.

Simply put, really old things get me pretty excited.

I am lucky to have excellent mentors and advisors who are not only brilliant,

but also great editors and motivators.

My PhD dissertation -- or Thesis, as they say in the UK -- focuses on late antique

images of the

Virgin Annunciate Spinning.

For an example, see the image above, a small ivory pyxis jar.

This object would have been used to hold ointment, make-up or perfume

and was probably owned by a woman.

I adore these domestic kinds of objects the most

because they are tangible evidence that home, family and spiritual iconography

were important to women during this period.

I could write you a book on my argument

and the precedents for it -- oh, yeah that is exactly what I am doing.

BUT, you'll have to wait for the end of the year for the published thesis.

My point is, this blog is not going to lay out every part of my research, but instead document my experience.

Being a mom during this whole process is actually a balancing element in my life.

I know I only have so many hours that are uninterrupted in a day.

Plus, I LOVE being with my children -- really BEING there with them.

So, while they know that what I do is important to me,

They also know that they are more important!

My very supportive husband also plays a MAJOR role in my success on the home-front.

As for style:

Many days I sit at my computer in my fab RL velour pants and a comfy t-shirt.

BUT, I also love to wear my "professional"

OXFORD CHIC

Favorites this week:

A Great Navy Blue Blazer -- use it with trousers or a great skirt, it is super versatile and SMART!

LIKE THIS

Today's Writing Goal:

Discuss Phrygian Tombstones and Epitaphs in relation to spinning iconography!

Disclaimer

Having decided to document the last year of my PhD, I think I should

start with a clean slate . . .

I am a Postgrad student at the University of Manchester, UK --

NOT Oxford. That is my disclaimer!

BUT, I Adore Oxford and have

Ancient Family Ties

to Oxford, Oxfordshire, and Christ Church College.

Also, you should know that I have been a part-time PhD student,

Full-time Wife & MOM,

and - Crazy though it may seem - a part-time lecturer

at two US Universities.

The title of this blog was inspired by my preferred

fashion style: Oxford Chic

Smart, Classic, and of course just a little bit sexy!

What I expect (and you can too) from this blog:

• An outlet for my academic musings, thoughts, frustrations
• A place to express my ideas about being a mom and a PhD student
• A place to post my latest Oxford Chic fashion finds!

Welcome!