Insomnia...

It has been a loooong time since I've been able to say this, thankfully - but now...I think I've got a touch of the insomnia!! It's been creeping up on me for maybe two weeks - one night here, one night there...at approximately 3 a.m. I wake up. And - I'm awake. Tired, but awake. And I can't get back to sleep. So, after lying in bed for awhile, trying to get back to sleep without thinking too hard about it, I get up because I know that I am not going to be successful this way - i.e. the whole 'trying not to think about going to sleep or about not going to sleep while being unable to sleep' thing. Ugh. So, I get up and come downstairs, and inevitably - end up on the computer. Funny thing about my insomnia (well, NOT funny, but you know what I mean...) is that I'm tired, but I can't sleep, but I'm too tired to do anything useful or productive, so although I'm no longer lying in bed, unable to sleep and frustrated, I'm lying on the couch, unable to sleep and frustrated. And, I already know that in the morning, and throughout the day, I will be tired and wanting to nap, and if given the opportunity, would be able to nap. So why can't I just 'nap' right now?! Argh!

This current bout of insomnia comes during an exciting/stressful/overwhelming/ time in our household, which may or may not be a factor in my sleeplessness. We have purchased our first home and have been packing/purging/preparing like maniacs for the big move, which officially happened this past Saturday. Another factor in my insomnia, which is also related to our big move, is that my handy dandy reading light that clips to my book and provides wonderful light for reading but doesn't disturb anybody else in a dark room in the middle of the night (i.e. my husband) has gone missing! While not in use, my clip-on light is clipped to the cord on my bedside lamp. What I should have done in preparation for moving is taken my clip-on light and stuck it in my purse for safekeeping/convenience. What I did do is wrap some packing tape around the lamp stand/cord/clip-on light so that it would all stay together and tidy for the movers. Problem is, when my bedside lamp arrived in our new house, my clip-on light did not! Ack! I don't know what happened to it, but it does not seem to have made the move after all. So now, one of my most sure-fire methods of getting myself back to sleep after having woken up in the middle of the night - reading - is no longer a convenient, easy, non-disturbing-to-husband, etc. option. So...now what?! I think I'll try giving the old-fashioned and traditional method of falling asleep (you know the one - lying down and closing eyes?) another try. Wish me luck!

7 Quick Takes Friday - Round 5

Another '7 Quick Takes Friday' brought to you with the help of The Conversion Diary...

1. Fridays mean new challenges at The Inspired Scrapper. This Friday features an 'All Things Animal' challenge - go have a visit!

2. Last week I took a drive out to our new city/neighbourhood to register my son for school. Since I was out that way, I decided to take a drive around to get 'the lay of the land'. I drove past a building with a mural painted on it and a sign announcing it as the 'Cloverdale Seniors Centre'. "Wow!", I thought, "That's great! A big gathering centre just for seniors! How nice!". There was an outdoor announcement sign beside the building that said, "Offers programs and services for seniors age 55 and over, including performing arts, visual arts, sports, games, fitness, crafts, special events, and more!". "Lovely", I thought, "Maybe I can find out if there is anything going on there that I can bring my mom out for". For whatever reason, I felt the need to verify in my head the age of my mother and that she would indeed qualify (she's 69). Then, from some strange and forbidden place inside my brain, a voice went on to announce that, not only did my mother qualify as a senior at the age of 69, but in 17 more years, I will qualify as a senior at age 55. Oh my goodness, I practically rear-ended the car stopped in front of me at a red light outside of the centre. In only 17 years, I will be a senior citizen?! That blew my mind!! How can that be?! I'm only 38! How can 17 more years make me an official old person?! 17 years just seems WAY too close for that kind of nonsense!! This whole aging process really is some kind of heavy trip!

3. I read recently in "The 24" that St. Paul's Hospital in Vancouver plans to open a 24-hour drop-off room where women can abandon their newborn children anonymously. My initial reaction to reading this was shock - general shock, about the whole topic. I'm not an ostrich with my head in the sand, I know that things like mothers abandoning their babies happen - it just caught me off guard reading about such a...what's the word I'm searching for...blunt (?!maybe?!) solution. I went on to read that 'Safe Haven' policies exist in all US states as well as several other countries, like Britain and Japan. Now, having read that, it surprises me that Canada has not yet got anything like this in place; however, the anonymity of the St. Paul's service will be a first in North America. The article says that hospital officials do not think this service will be used very frequently, and that they hope that it won't be used at all. Wow. This really gets me thinking about a lot of things. Makes me want to hug my children. Makes me want to hug the next teenage mom I see (not to imply that it's only and always teenagers who go this route), and makes me very, very thankful that I have been lucky enough to be able to conceive and carry three pregnancies to term and have them result in three healthy children. Never mind the piles of laundry, the messy floors, the daunting utilities bills, the petty annoyances/grievances with your neighbours or your co-workers or your spouse, etc. - gotta find a reason to stop each day and be thankful. "There but for the grace of God go I".

4. I have been reminded once again of how horribly dependent I am on caffeine to get me going in the morning. I had to have some blood work done this week which required fasting and let me tell you, I was one irritable, groggy mama the morning of my test! I have quit caffeine in the past - mostly just to prove to myself that I can, and after the initial withdrawal (headaches, irritability, fatigue), I definitely notice that I am more 'even' throughout the day, in mood and in energy. Guilty confession? Even knowing this, I am not currently interested in or motivated to give up my caffeinated beverages right now. I enjoy my strong black tea with milk throughout the day, and - with warmer days upon us, I am also beginning to make my own homemade, better-than-Starbucks cafe con leche's - AKA iced coffee with milk. Yes, I know that I can opt for the decaf option but honestly - if tea or coffee doesn't come with caffeine, I'd rather just drink water. In fact, I would classify water as my favorite drink - but tea and coffee are tied for a close second!

5. I saw a person in a Smart Car driving stupid, and it made me think that if I sold a product called 'Smart' anything, I'd want to ensure that the interested consumer actually qualified as 'smart' first in order to maintain the integrity of my product once they were turned loose with it!

6. Upon his return from daycare one day this week, Cody came marching into the house with the strap of his lunchbox slung over his shoulder and announced, "Look, Mommy! I'm 'tarrying' my lunchbox like Daddy 'tarries' his purse!". Daddy prefers to call to his purse his briefcase.

7. Another cute Cody moment happened yesterday. Out of the blue (where so many cute kid things seem to come from!), Cody proclaimed - "Mama lucky!". I said, "Yes, I am lucky! Why do you think I'm lucky?", to which Cody replied, "Love!". Short, sweet, to the point, and very accurate. My Cody is one smart little guy!

A New Tuesday Meme...

Hello, and Happy Tuesday! I've just come across a new-to-me meme hosted by Should Be Reading. Here is the description/explanation from the blog of how to join:

"Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

Grab your current read
Open to a random page
Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!"

I thought it sounded pretty fun, so here's my "teaser", from So Much For That, by Lionel Shriver:

"So your answer is to make our children ashamed of themselves, which doesn't improve their math skills one bit."

Carol's whisk-whisk motions were her only giveaway that she was furious.

Are you intrigued? Do you want to run out and find this book? Will you add it to your 'Must Read' list? This is the first book I've ever read of Lionel Shriver's. I've only just started it - so far it seems promising, if perhaps a bit slow right now...

What have you read lately that you would recommend?

Cards for The Inspired Scrapper's Colour Challenge...

Hello, and Happy Monday! I've got a couple of cards to share today, in response to this week's challenge over at The Inspired Scrapper. This is the inspiration piece:

and these are my cards:



I'm going to use these cards for Mother's Day - I'll stamp an appropriate sentiment inside.

The Inspired Scrapper challenge is open until 9 pm PST Thursday, May 6th and is good for any scrapbooking related project, not just cards. Don't keep your creativity under wraps - join in and share with us!

Happy National Scrapbooking Day!

Yay! A 'holiday' just for us scrappers!! How exciting is that?! Here in Vancouver, it's a damp, overcast day that could turn out brilliantly by the afternoon, or else it could be very, very wet. Either way, it's a perfect day for scrapbooking! It's a typical busy busy Saturday at our house - we've got packing to get through, a kids birthday party, and of course - Hockey Night In Canada tonight where the Canucks take on Chicago in the first game of the second round playoffs (Go Canucks Go!!!), but I know I'll be able to sneak in some scrap time! In fact, I'm in my scrap space right now. I've got my tea, my music, and my fabulous lighting - I'm good to go!

With National Scrapbooking Day comes The Inspired Scrapper's new Blogger-based blog launch. There are some opportunities to win some prizes,a Design Team Call, a colour challenge - lots of goodness!! Go have a look!!

Happy Crafting, Happy HNIC, and Happy Saturday to all my friends!