Someone sent this my way today, and I love the reference – perhaps I ought to simply start calling myself poly, since it seems I embrace everything the prefix can address.

Off I fly, careering far
In chase of Pollys, prettier far
Than any of their namesakes are,–
The Polymaths and Polyhistors,
Polyglots and all their sisters.

But, despite the laugh I got from Thomas Moore singing the praises of polymaths, I got an even bigger laugh from the next lines:

So have I known a hopeful youth
Sit down in quest of lore and truth,
With tomes sufficient to confound him,
Like Tohu Bohu, heapt around him,–
Mamurra[1] stuck to Theophrastus,
And Galen tumbling o’er Bombastus.[2]
When lo! while all that’s learned and wise
Absorbs the boy, he lifts his eyes,
And through the window of his study
Beholds some damsel fair and ruddy,
With eyes, as brightly turned upon him as
The angel’s[3] were on Hieronymus.
Quick fly the folios, widely scattered,
Old Homer’s laureled brow is battered,
And Sappho, headlong sent, flies just in
The reverend eye of St. Augustin.
Raptured he quits each dozing sage,
Oh woman, for thy lovelier page:
Sweet book!–unlike the books of art,–
Whose errors are thy fairest part;
In whom the dear errata column
Is the best page in all the volume!

For the first time ever, I’m dating a student while not a student myself, so I can actually watch the battle between the brains!

My Blake-puppy and Stacy's Hope-puppy are having a great time racing around together this weekend!

I’m in a cabin in the woods with some business-minded friends this weekend, and all of us are having some massive productive time and business brainstorms (along with lots of wine and spectacular food, as we each take turns cooking).

I’ve been thinking a lot about the concept of ‘commit, and the universe will respond.’ As much as I hesitate to admit it, the community garden has been the first thing I’ve really committed to in a while. And while I’ve seen the universe respond, I’ve also seen it show me how much more I’m capable of doing than I thought I was. When I’ve needed an extra set of hands they’ve appeared, but when I think something is going to be hard – constructing the water system or hauling an F250 full of compost – and no one comes out to help… I can do it myself. I’ve hauled 50lb bags of manure. I built a system capable of collecting 660 gallons of water. I shoveled an F250 full of compost, then trundled it through the woods to the garden with I don’t even know how many trips with a wheelbarrow.

I’m creating a community garden on what was a patch of barren earth.

If I can do that, then why haven’t I committed 100% to my business? My MPH will be done in the next few months, and the classes have admittedly been a huge distraction to juggle, though I wouldn’t trade 95% of them in hindsight. I built the framework of a business that will change how we think of productivity, and I did it in hours pinched from coursework and research over the past two years. And I’ve started the same process in the arenas of expertise and publishing, though those aren’t nearly as far along.

Now, as of today, I’m committing to making Personalized Productivity into something that can challenge the status quo and be mentioned in the same context as David Allen and Getting Things Done. I’m committing to turning the Good Ship Lifestyle into a beacon for polymaths, and positioning those polymaths to take on the huge problems we face as a species. And I’m committing to the stories I tell at Written Insight, to getting them out into the world and to finding like-minded authors to found Fingerprint Press and re-instate the reader as the gatekeeper of what is worth reading and what isn’t.

I think he's a mountain goat disguised as a sheltie...

Hey, at least it keeps him occupied. *shrugs*

In other news, OMG, it’s a gorgeous day and I’m seriously excited about being alive!

I thought I was buying a 1 lb bag! So far I put it on top of Chicken Divan instead of breadcrumbs, grated it and added it to Genoan minestrone and a random risotto, tossed it into last night’s Chocolate-Espresso Chili and made two pans of kale chips… and I still have a third of the bag left! Suggestions, anyone?

Happy Rambles is down, so I’m not getting my daily gratitude e-mail. Though I still haven’t set it up to post automatically to this journal, so it’s not as if anyone other than me knew that I’d stopped recording my gratitude. (Not that there’s anyone reading here anyway, but there is something about it being public…)

-Today I’m grateful for the awesome experiment that turned into Bechamel lasagna with eggplant noodles. It tasted divine, even if it didn’t include kale.
-I’m also grateful for the amazing friends I have, and how we can dig into work simultaneously at a coffee shop and come out with lots of shit done and a wonderful time.
-I’m grateful for my puppies, even if I did just have to intervene to keep Blake from stealing Ty’s bully stick.
-I’m grateful for the opportunity to apply for the Good Life Project, even if I have no idea whether I’ll be able to get in or if I’ll be able to afford it. Sometimes you just feel like something is right, and you jump and trust that it will work out.
-I’m grateful that I’ll find out about my NSF grant soon… and grateful that I have awesome summer plans, no matter what happens! :D
-I’m grateful for the opportunity to chat with one best friend today, and the forgiveness of another for a trespass that I’m not even sure occurred.
-I’m grateful to have an idea reintroduced that might solve a number of problems.
-I’m grateful to have this beautiful treehouse condo to myself, and to have a landlord willing to discuss selling it to me when I have the money.
-I’m grateful to have discovered chunks of coconut. OMG, BLISS.
-I’m grateful to be able to talk with my aunt each week, and to have the reassurance that my desires aren’t out of touch with reality.
-I’m grateful to have gotten an awesome Groupon for a cut and style this morning.
-I’m grateful for the ability to turn lemons into lemonade. Even if it sometimes takes me a bit to get the recipe right.
-I’m grateful for the people who help me turn lemons into lemonade, especially my spectacular website manager.
-I’m grateful to have had the energy to clean the kitchen and bathroom (and that I remembered to do laundry), and equally grateful to be able to leave the vacuuming until next week!

I did actually get through my to-do list this weekend… though granted, it’s by a stint of ignoring the classwork coming up this week. Or not ignoring, per se, more tackling it without adding it to the official list!

By the way, how awesome is this aquarium? I’ve decided that’s going to be my next big reward, either for finishing the semester or turning in my thesis this summer. I can’t quite believe that my MPH is almost over… I’ve accomplished almost everything I went to grad school for. I have a solid plan B for employment to get health insurance if I need it, and my business is so close to snowballing… it’s like the feeling I get driving through the Rockies, when I can feel the tension in the stone. In some places it’s scary, it would take so little to send it all tumbling down. But here, the tumble would be a boon, not a disaster. I’m torn between wanting it and wanting it to just wait a week or two so I can get this or that fixed on the site. But it’s not 100% under my control, not really, so I work on what needs working and keep writing and reaching out.

Which, speaking of working on what needs working, I have a sales page to be putting up. That’s what will pay Steph, after all!

… Blake just chased his tail into a wall. Oh, puppy!

Because who doesn’t love an enormous dose of cute? I can’t believe how blessed I am to wake up to this every day. (Just need to remind myself of that after Blake destroys my headset, rips off a cookbook cover, or helps himself to the apple bowl on my desk…)

Blake is on the left and Tyler is on the right.

Tyler's my quiet boy - he chose me as his human 3 years ago, and he's never changed his mind.

Ty can be a goofball when he wants to be.

But mostly he's just happy hanging out with his human and his brother Blake.

Blake, on the other hand, is all goof.

He sticks his head into everything...

... and thinks that he's entitled to test whatever I'm cooking. To make sure it's safe for humans, of course!

Both boys are currently poking me in the butt, because it’s 11:30 and “Human, don’t you know it’s bed time?”

What would I do without them?

I have a gorgeous little Carolina Sapphire tree, but very little in the way of ornamentation.

One bare tree...

So I decided to make my own ornaments, and turn the tree into a daily reminder of everything I’m thankful for.

My first gratitude ornament

Then I thought, why should I be the only one to deck the tree?

Tell me what you’re grateful for, and let’s cover every inch of this little tree!

Today I am grateful for

• The time I spent with my family last weekend
• The fact that my grandfather is not staying with my family for the next six weeks, thus making life much easier for my mom.
• The time I spent with my aunts and grandmother this weekend
• Two beautiful puppies
• Finding another beautiful puppy to complement my first beautiful puppy
• The fact that both beautiful puppies are actually lying still and letting me get some work done
• My amazing business partner
• The chance to talk with Nicole again
• Tribal Author is starting
• Uncertainty
• All the yummy food I had this weekend
• My new tea kettle and front door mat
• Hooks for leashes and towels
• New pictures in unexpected places
• Comfortable beds and flannel sheets and cute comforters
• The blessing of having a small enrollment to work out all the bugs on
• Finding my clicker for dog training
• Having the points on Amazon to get dog supplies for free
• Getting my inbox from 150 to 70
• Opportunities for new income that I’m sure will show up
• Having the house to myself again
• Finding the opportunity to apply for the NSF fellowship
• Having someone in Australia who might be interested in hosting me for a project that would be absolutely perfect

Today I am grateful for:

• My beautiful puppy
• Potentially getting my beautiful puppy a friend
• A fun arepa recipe to experiment with
• Making decent money on the PP launch
• Ideas for paying the rent next month
• Ideas for trading my skills to get the coaching and services I need
• Going for a two mile run today and only stopping once
• Chocolate with marzipan
• Brownies
• Getting people I respect to help promote the survey for GSL
• Writing 7200 words today
• Gorgeous orchid above my desk
• The chance to co-host the Uncertainty book club chats
• The opportunity to win a scholarship to Tribal Author
• The opportunity to attend the World Domination Summit
• Making new friends
• The new siding on the side of the building
• Just a week until I go home
• Just two weeks until Grandma, Barb and Terry visit
• My truly amazing business partner
• Finding an affiliate at the last minute for our launch
• Learning from the launch and plans to do it better next time

Today I am grateful for:

- My seriously amazing business partner, without whom I could never have gotten this far with the Personalized Productivity course.
- The awesome people who have responded to our e-mails and purchased the course.
- My adorable little puppy, who knows just how to break the tension, even if it involves jumping on me.
- The fact that I have the money to get through this month.
- The gorgeous cooler weather we’ve been having.
- The fact that I do have a tiny back door Plan B, even if I *really* don’t want to have to borrow more money.
- The Shakespeare Tavern is interested in buying my remaining necklaces.
- I have another client.
- I sold the Etsy shop and made my money back on supplies.
- I found an orchid in the discount cart, and it’s in perfect condition.
- I have a coupon to Schakolad Chocolate factory
- I have this weekend to write my papers and get ahead.
- I’ve managed everything, even if it hasn’t turned out exactly the way I planned.
- Shane’s webinar series is going great, so we’re in good shape to run our survey in two weeks.
- Shane reached out to Jonathan, and now I’m going to get to co-host a series of book chats for the author of what’s sure to become a New York Times bestseller.
- I still have the apartment to myself, and no one to worry about all the tumbleweeds but me.
- I cooked some awesome, healthy, affordable food this week.
- I’ve made a new friend.
- I found an option for remaining at Emory after I finish my MPH.
- The complex is finally replacing the siding on my building.
- I’m sitting on a gold mine, I just need to find the vein.

Today I am grateful for:
- my beautiful puppy and the wonderful job he did walking across the Emory campus this morning
- my personal best ever sight reading audition
- the cheery yellow flowers in my office
- the fact that my family came through Irene without any significant damage
- six additional hours a week to work on my business
- all of the cool people that I’ve been able to connect with lately
- exciting ideas for launching the niche wide survey on GSL
- the opportunity to see The Taming of the Shrew on Saturday
- a potential outlet to sell my jewelry and have it support a good cause
- a potential buyer for the entire shop
- running across the articles on manifesting money, and having $10 show up in my volunteer apron later that day
- my first paying client!!
- having another potential client who’s interested in coaching in a month or two
- all of my classes seem like they’ll be exciting
- not having any final exams at all
- finding ice cream on sale yesterday
- making a yummy black bean stew, with perfect pork chops to go with it
- finding lots of gluten free restaurants and bakeries in Atlanta
- the University of Surrey has a concert choir
- time to write this morning
- clean countertops, clean dishes, and soon to be clean floors
- the opportunity to talk with Rachel
- the rest of the Lift Off group
- finding a co-host for my planned GSL survey
- awesome ideas from my conversation with that co-host
- connecting with other people in the niche :)