Friday Five: Taking a Break

From RevGalBlogPals:

Where we live, it's February School Vacation Week!

Yes, that's an odd thing, a vacation extending President's Day. But it's part of our lives here. Some people go South or go skiing, but we always stay home and find more humble amusements.

In that spirit, I offer this Taking a Break Friday Five. Tell us how you would spend:

1. a 15 minute break
Probably walking down the hall to talk to a friend, and grabbing a cup of coffee.

2. an afternoon off
Now, that really depends on how ambitious I am feeling. Often, I will spend a couple of hours reading in the cafe of a bookstore. Sometimes I get the energy to go for a walk through the botanical gardens (it's about a 40 minute drive from home) or to work out. And then I would plan a nice dinner, since I'm often eating on the run.

3. an unexpected free day
Sleep In! Probably much like my afternoon off, but with some putzing around the house. And a matinee movie. There always seems to be something good in the theaters lately.

4. a week's vacation
I've been trying to plan one of these, and the possibilities are competing for attention! I like to visit family or friends for vacations, mostly because I don't see them much throughout the year. So I would probably go to see my brother and his wife in Maryland, or my best friend and her family in New Orleans. At other times of the year, I visit my mom in Oregon or my dad in Montana.... Even that conveys the sense that my loved ones are all over the map!

5. a sabbatical
What an intriguing question. At this stage in my career, I would probably want to go to France to do some research. I mean, if you have the excuse to go to Paris (such as research), why resist?