Tossing and Turning

The last rumblings of thunder are fading into the background as the latest round of storms passes through. I wish I could say I had slept through the entire thing, but as I have been for the past three nights, I am wide awake, thinking of nothing in particular yet finding sleep escaping me. I am not a stranger to these sleepless nights, but they never get easier to get through. And I should make it clear that inevitably I will get three or four hours of sleep. It is just falling asleep that can be rough.

That said, though, overall it has been a fabulous day. I finally made my shopping trip, which even I have to admit was far more successful than I had hoped. It was one of those rare days where I felt okay going into the changing room (normally, I feel too lazy to do so), and even better, actually like how things looked on me. I found myself gravitating to a wide array of extremely feminine styles, which I have noticed happening the older I am. I swear that if I could pull the look off, I would spend much of my time in long, flowing dresses or loose peasant tops and jeans. Kind of that nouveau-bohemian/hippie look. The look on me is still a bit too disconcerting for me to go ahead and buy the clothes, but it was fun to try on a few things that would have added some variety to my wardrobe. Perhaps I can gradually introduce some pieces and see where it leads to from there. As it stands, I had to pry myself away from the store so my bank account wouldn't take an even bigger hit than it was already going to sustain for my minimal purchases.

I am plotting out my day for tomorrow (or I guess, really it is today). I am not sure yet what I will fill it with. I am tempted to bake something again, but I keep waffling between something like blueberry muffins to something a little more complicated like a strawberry tart (or more likely, strawberry tartlets).  There is also a recipe for easy puff pastry that I want to try, but I am not certain what I want to put in said puff pastry. Oh, the burden of having too many choices :)  (Outside of baking, I will probably do my typical weekly cleaning which is ever so exciting.)

And as you can see, it isn't really anything all that interesting keeping me up at night. I am not wrestling with a guilty conscience, pondering a difficult decision, or even worrying about getting things done. It is just as if a flip has been switched that says "no sleep tonight." I recognize that sitting here, blogging, is not an ideal way to make myself sleepy--something about the artificial light of the computer causing problems and all that fun stuff, but nothing else has worked in the past, either, so there you go...

Anyway, the night draws on, and I should probably attempt sleep again soon. I promise the next post will be more interesting--per a request from a friend, I am going to attempt to blog about some of my past travels in anticipation of my upcoming adventure (one week!). I promise it will be more interesting than this :)  Have to say, glad that world didn't end to day...I would have been upset about missing out on my vacation :)

This and That...

It has been one of those days where I have felt the need to be in motion. Beginning at 6:30 this morning, I have been compelled to stay in motion, flitting from one activity to another. While helpful in getting things done, it certainly leaves one feeling a bit more tired at the end of the day. My only hope is that it will help me sleep better tonight than I did last night. Tossing, turning, and waking up every hour does not lend itself to feeling rested.

Of the things I did today, I am most pleased with how my latest baking experiment turned out. Looking for something to bring to welcome a new co-worker tomorrow, I browsed several websites looking for something simple enough to make, that didn't require a special trip to the store for ingredients, and would be well-received by pretty much anyone.  I chose to make "Magic in the Middles," a recipe I found on King Arthur Flour's wesbite. 

Image from http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/magic-in-themiddles-recipe

I figure the combo of chocolate and peanut butter is one with which you cannot go wrong. (Unlike other bakers who do an amazing job capturing their work in progress, it is best for me NOT to show a step by step version. Seriously, I am perhaps one of the messiest cooks you will ever encounter, and my stuff, while usually tasting pretty good, never looks all that pretty.)

I also planted some seeds that will hopefully sprout into seedlings over the next couple of weeks. If all goes well, I will have a small garden with tomatoes, zucchini, yellow squash, cucumbers, and green peppers. Fingers crossed that my notorious black thumb doesn't crush my future plans.

Other than that, it was a lot more yard work (despite the overcast skies and chilly air), a long walk while chatting on the phone with my parents, and a few other random chores. Nothing exciting, but enough to keep me busy. Still, I managed to think of several potential blog posts throughout the day--it is strange how certain activities trigger memories that seem not at all related to what you are doing--but actually writing about any of them has proven to be elusive. Has anyone else ever thought that perhaps it would be better to write out a blog entry then type it up to share? While in grad school, I picked up the habit of handwriting a majority of my papers before finishing the final draft. Considering how I used to write everything only on the computer (except for in-class essays, of course), it seems almost like a step backwards technologically. Yet, I still think that perhaps pencil and paper would help me capture some of these fleeting ideas in a way that I can flesh out at a later date. If you haven't figured it out by now, I have a lot to say, even if no one else cares to hear it :)

Alas, today is not the day that I explore the joys of traveling solo, recollect fond memories of watching my tent fly over a cliff, or reminisce about being a member of the defense team working to prove that Ashley Thornhill was not guilty of murder. So, until I manage to get pencil to paper or break down the mental block preventing me from writing anything remotely interesting, I bid you adieu. Enjoy the rest of your evening, and here is hoping you all have an excellent week ahead!