Shhhhhh

(Not my image)

Now that I am on a somewhat normal schedule, J and I are sleeping at different times. The nice thing about this is that we both get the whole bed to ourselves to spread out, and we never have to make the bed because there is no point. The bad thing is our house is more like a library than anything else. In our apartment sound carries like crazy, so no TV, no radio, etc. without headphones. Also I go outside to talk on the phone. Then to top it off, all my books that I am reading, and want to read, are piled around. It really is like a library in here. I am also honing my tiptoeing skills, but I still have a hard time doing dishes and cooking quietly. And you all thought I lived a quiet life before!

A Scouting Knife?

I was looking for clip art for some scout stuff I am doing and I found this picture. It made me laugh. Every good scout has to have a multi tool knife right? I don't think my little bears even have pockets big enough to put something like this in.

Sleep Now AND Sleep Later

(Not My Photo)

I have nothing to post about because all I have been doing this last week is catching up on sleep. Before I was staying up during the day for work and at night so I could see J and only catching 1 to 4 hours in naps total. This last week I didn't have work so I slept at night, but then slept all day while J was sleeping too. It has been sooo nice. I feel so much better. I wish you could bank sleep and save it for later. Sleep a week then just stay up a week strait.

What I did on our days off

Jake

Pete

Abby

Abby & Jake

Observations On Sleep Deprivation

I absolutely love this picture, it really says it all! But I didn't take it.

Things I have noticed about sleep deprivation
-After an extended period of getting 1-5 hours of sleep out of 24 or even 48, you stop actually feeling sleepy, but sometimes you just can't stay conscious anymore.
-Setting an alarm really doesn't do much.
-Yet when you do get a chance to sleep you wake up like every 20 minutes wondering how many days you have been out for.
-House cats love it when you are on their schedule.
-Night and day contacts and long lasting makeup are awesome.
-Everything seems less important and more funny.
-You kind of stop caring what your hair is doing and start wearing hats more.
-You tend to only wear your most comfortable clothes.
-There are some personality changes (yesterday I was the one to show the new girl around at work!)
-When you are happy you are HAPPY, and when you are not, you are NOT.
-You can find ways to blog about just about anything.

*sigh* I think I will go try to take a nap!

Not a sky in the clouds, but making the best of it.

J took this picture of the area with his cell from a plane when they were doing an OCF (operational check flight).

This morning I asked J if he wanted to go for a drive down the gorge as the sun was rising and take some pictures. We decided that if it was nice out we would. When it started to get light enough and he looked out the window I asked him if it was raining, his reply was, "not a sky in the clouds." So we are going to get donuts instead.
Later
We went to the donut shop and they were out of donuts. Yep, out. That is what the sign on the door said. SO lame. See:Then we went to Freddy's and they were not open yet, so we went to another bakery and they did not sell donuts. A bakery that doesn't sell donuts? What, Really? So we ended up at Safeway and there was the bat-mobile in the parking lot. Can you see the wings on top? I ended up getting a cream danish... mmmmmm those are the BEST! I have not tasted anything so good since those fresh strawberries we had in CA in March. Please overlook the drool on this post. Hope you all have as fun of a day as mine!

The Adventures Of An Incurable Optimist

This week I have:
Been peed on, pissed off and passed out.
Deprived of, sleep, sun and sugar.
People have insulted me, drew my blood, and dismissed me.
I have had cat problems, cash problems, and creativity problems.
I haven't had enough motivation, inspiration, or cell minutes.
My four letter words for the week are: U.S.P.S., WORK, and RAIN
And all I have really wanted was a good ride, followed by some good fruit, and then a good nap. None of which I got.

But then this evening I watch Michael J. Fox's show "The Adventures of an Incurable Optimist" and he said a few things that really helped me put things in perspective. The show was so full of motivational quotes it almost made me gag, but it really was a good reality check. As good as it was, I am not sure I could hack reading the book, I am just not that, "feel good" type of a person. I am more the type of person who finds "demotivators" so funny they are uplifting.
Here were some quotes from Michael J. Fox that I liked and thought I would share.

"I am careful not to confuse excellence with perfection. Excellence, I can reach for; perfection is God's business."

"What other people think about me is not my business."

"Optimism doesn't mean being in denial"

"I'm content to enjoy the hope, without needing to be assured of the outcome."

Error Message: TMI

This week has been one of those weeks where nothing has been simple and everything frustrating. It has left me with a longing for a more simple way of life. With this age of information I some times feel like I am on information overload. For example: I know I should stretch before I exercise. I know how many seconds I am supposed to leave between me and the car I am following. I know how many hours of sleep I should get. I know about the benefits of sunscreen. I know how often I should change the oil in my car. But with all this good information I also know the bad things. There are wrong ways to do stretches. I know my car and the car in front of me are putting out earth-destroying emissions. I know that you should not sleep on your stomach because it is bad for your neck. I know that lots of sunscreen has been tested on animals in an inhumane way. And I know that every time I change my oil I am increasing my carbon footprint. And to top it off the information keeps changing... butter is better for you, no margarine, no butter again. And while I am not the type to cut down a sapling to drag behind me to brush out my carbon footprint, at a certain point I have to just do my thing and try not to think about it too much. What about just living life? Recently someone I know gave me an article on pesticides used on food, and how to shop for and eat those veggies and fruits that are low in toxins. While I greatly appreciate the fact that this person thought of me, and took the time to print out and send me the article, I did not find it too helpful. So much of the time I am just at my limits in trying to get my suggested daily intake (By the way, there have been studies that show the FDA 's suggestions are flawed). I really don't want to hear that the expensive fruits and veggies that I am buying, because I am trying to eat right, are poisoning me. It is not like I can just stop eating, but after reading the article I want to! (You must try to read this next sentence in one breath, the way I wrote it.) Do you ever wonder if the health and wellbeing of our nation is so bad off because there is just too much information and everyone is fed up with all they are supposed to do and are just living off of fast food because even though it is the worst thing in the world for you at least it is easy? (okay, breathe) Now seriously, I honestly believe that being well educated and knowing as much as we can is a divine attribute that we must continuity work to improve within ourselves, yet there are some times when I feel ignorance is bliss. Often when I open my fridge, or turn on my warm running water I am grateful for the knowledge that we have that provides these conveniences. And every time I take a Tylenol and my headache goes away I am grateful for modern medicine, and wonder how in the days of yore anyone survived at all. And yet there are so many things about that time before computers and even cars that I wish we still had. Throughout history knowledge has been a gift from God, and while I still know it is, I feel that Satan has a great hold on using it against us now. So this meandering tirade leave me with some questions for you. Does this current flood of information leave us a happier people? And what can we do to "be smart," and yet avoid the pitfalls of TMI? Oh, and by the way, if next week is a repeat of this week, my next post will be to tell you I am closing down my blog to go live in a yurt in the wilderness, with just J (sorry you have no choice), a couple horses, a knife, and some duct tape... anyone want to join me?