Every day has felt like a beautiful spring day this past week. It’s amazing how sunlight and blue skies immediately perk you up. That wind though. Still up to its tricks. However, gazing out the window while working has been made quite pleasant by the sunlight streaming through.
Speaking of work, I made it through and it wasn’t bad at all. Busy, but manageable. I’ve not been sleeping at all but my body and mind are constantly racing so I think that helped me catch-up so quickly. I was on fire. My daughter is not sleeping either. She was given an RX to try but it’s not working nor are any of the natural remedies (Melatonin, Magnesium, Valerian root, ZzzQuil, etc.) She is doing meditation too. If you have something to suggest, please do.
Right Now:
All that is going on right now is lounging. We had nothing scheduled for this weekend and it was nice to not have to leave the house or really do anything.
Later, my youth group will meet on Zoom again. We don’t have much of a choice even though everyone is tired of it. One out of three people in LA County have COVID so we remain virtual.
This Week:
Here’s where we really need your good thoughts, prayers, salt over the shoulder, whatever works. Two auditions this week. Hot weather and wind. Edison threatening (again) to shut the power off. We will prepare to have fully charged laptops and hotspots just in case but for singing on Zoom, the hard-wired ethernet cable is the best way to go so we hope the power remains on for Carnegie Mellon and Arizona. Please.
I also have a book club meeting on Zoom to discuss The Memory Police. I believe my daughter also has a master class to attend so power would be good.
Monday, campus is closed in honor of MLK day. I nearly forgot.
Reading:
The Overstory. It’s a long book, 500 pages or so. I may read Miss Benson’s Beetle at the same time.
Watching:
Believe it or not, I have been watching Maine Cabin Masters. It’s on the DIY network. They remodel these cabins in the middle of nowhere, often keeping the environment and sustainability in mind. It’s really amazing what they can do with these little cabins. Sometimes they are located on an island with no running water or an easy way to transport supplies. It’s fascinating.
Grateful for:
- My son was offered another job to supplement the hours he is currently working so he will have two jobs. Two of my fave places (Williams Sonoma and REI).
- The Otter Pup who was feeling out of sorts is now back to her normal, quirky self. I pulled a small burr out of her coat and voila! She is back in business. She also had a thorn stuck in her back. That dog loves to jump into bushes.
What’s new with you? Oh! The inauguration is this week. Praying for a smooth transition with zero drama.
Book Chatter 
Your temps make me envious but not all that wind. It’s 41 and partly sunny here so a nice change from lots of rain last week. We will be walking soon. Hope all goes well for the daughter and congrats for your son’s jobs as well. Glad the pup is better as well. Fingers crossed for a peaceful Wednesday as well.
I woke this morning and it’s like a warm spring day. The wind though. Ugh! My face is all dried out from it. My pup loves the warm weather though.
I don’t have much to offer in terms of helping with sleep – I find it hard to sleep if something is stressing me out and sounds like your daughter is going through a very challenging experience – applications, virtual school, etc. Gawd, I remember being so anxious during the year when I was applying to grad schools, but then I didn’t even have to take an interview or perform. Whatever is causing the sleeplessness, hope it passes soon. Meditation has usually been successful, so I hope that works!
I’m looking forward to Wednesday and hopefully, we will be able to celebrate. I just hope things don’t go south.
Smooth transition and zero drama would be such a relief after all of this. Fingers crossed! Praying you have power all week, too… so many important things coming up!
Probably a good idea to have a quicker/shorter book to read alongside The Overstory. Look forward to your thoughts.
Ooh, I love REI, too. Congrats on your son’s new job. Hope your daughter’s auditions go well and that you guys don’t lose power.
I have been enjoying the weather too. So nice to be able to open the windows. The winds didn’t get too bad where I live, although on just the other side of town I heard the power was going out because of high winds. It’s amazing how different the weather can be just a few miles away.
I am sorry to hear you and your daughter are not sleeping. I hope you both are able to find a way to help that.
I hope everything goes well with your daughter’s auditions! And may your power stay on and be strong!
I am glad to hear Otter Pup is doing well. And Congratulations to your son on his second job The extra income will be welcome, I am sure!
I hope you have a great week, Ti. Hang in there.
Is it windy there today? My Dad on the phone in Redlands said it was gorgeous. It just seems too dangerous to try to get to SoCal from here; I keep waiting to go. Glad your son got the REI job … nice store, along with Williams Sonoma. The only thing I use for sleep problems is Benadryl … which also clears my allergies too. It knocks me out eventually. I hope her auditions go well. Good luck with The Overstory … I want to get to it later this year. And we will see about the Inauguration. I’m getting excited for the new prez & VP. We need to be rescued at this point. Enjoy your week.
It has been very windy off and on but 80mph winds tonight.
I finished The Overstory today!! Nearly read it in two sittings. Quite different. I really enjoyed it.
I envy those temperatures…but it is windy here too. Break a Leg, Emma! Things are super busy for me at work, so a three-day weekend of doing nothing was like heaven!
A couple of ideas for Emma and you regarding sleep – try listening to the calming music or stories they have on Headspace. You can set a timer and it shuts off automatically. Another idea – chamomile tea. Another idea, rather than meditation, try counting backward from 10,000. It was a suggestion from Headspace when I was struggling to sleep. The idea is to give yourself plenty of numbers so that you won’t stress about counting down to zero, and you want to differentiate anything you do at night from regular meditation. Lastly, the best thing I have found is to not fight sleeplessness. Grab a book, keep the lights dim or, if reading on your phone or Kindle, use the Dark setting, and read until you can’t keep your eyes open anymore. I use one or all of these ideas lately, and I can usually fall asleep within an hour or two of going to bed.
Thank you for the information. She has used Headspace before. Worked for a little while. She is using a different one now. Again, works for a week or so then doesn’t. I will mention the counting trick. She falls asleep but can’t stay asleep. She resorts to podcasts but never actually falls back asleep so those nights make for horrible mornings. Every now and then she manages to get a few good hours.
Ti, my aunt had terrible insomnia and went to a sleep clinic. One of the things they told her to do is to get up out of bed if she can’t sleep after 20 minutes. Walk around the house, but turn on as few lights as possible. Don’t read. Don’t eat. Don’t do anything but walk around for a few minutes. I’m not sure for how long, but after a while, return to bed and try to go back to sleep. She said it helped.
She has gotten up but usually to eat or get some water. I will mention it. She has to get some sleep! The doc prescribed an allergy med that has calming benefits because they typically do not prescribe sleep aids to teens. It’s not working at all.
REI and William Sonoma are fantastic shops to work in (and get discounts for!). Good luck to your daughter in her auditions. When will she finally hear about all of them? Let’s hope this wind doesn’t produce anything scary.
Well, our power went out at 2:30am and it’s still out. ETA is late Thursday which would be too late for her audition. She has two friends who offered their houses to her as a backup. We also had TWO brush fires in areas where there was power. Ugh.
When I wake up in the night, I have a soft story ready to go on audio where it doesn’t disturb anyone else. I fall back asleep in minutes. I don’t know if that’s a possibility for you and your daughter.
Power outages are crazy during this time. I hope you are able to get things worked out.
I just sobbed through the inauguration. I am happy (so happy!) to have new leaders in our country. What a wonderful speech for our new president. Unity. Those are words I have been longing to hear.
Let’s hope things start turning around now, Ti.
I will usually just get up and go downstairs to read a book if I am unable to go back to sleep. My daughter has resorted to podcasts sometimes but mostly she just stays put.
The inauguration was lovely. Just lovely and I felt for once that leaders who actually care for the country are back in office.
I had trouble getting to sleep a little while ago and, thinking that maybe light was the problem, put on an eye mask. It was amazing how it worked! And not because of light – but because the slight pressure around my head acted something like a calming mechanism. Because of that, I find it helpful to have a firm tension in the elastic. The loser masks won’t work for me.
My husband jokes that he’s been looking for my “off” switch for decades and has finally found it.
P.S. In the past, I have found that counting backwards from 100 has been very effective – as long as I can keep my focus on the numbers.
You know, I think she has a mask. I am going to have her try it. I was also thinking of trying a weighted blanket but she runs hot all the time.