Sleep Budget

Sox and I got new pillows recently. We have each had the same pillow for years now and recently we decided it was time for new ones. I chose to move to a down pillow. I have been using a poly-fill pillow for as long as I can remember, but when I was really young I had a feather pillow. Maybe it was time for a change.

Sox did the purchasing, and got us medium support down pillows.

The first night I slept on it I was surprised by how flat it got. My head flet like it was right on the bead, and that the pillow wasn’t doing anything at all. The first morning I felt more tired than when I went to bed. Not a good start.

I gave it a couple more tries, but each night I used my new pillow I did not sleep as soundly and felt horrible in the morning.

I switched back. In one night, having less hours of total sleep, I felt well rested and back to normal. sigh. So much for a nice clean new pillow. I guess I will have to go shopping for a new pillow myself. Trouble is, how can you tell if a pillow will work for you unless you actually sleep on it a few times? How much do you use a new pillow before reverting to the old one again? What is the acceptable life span for a pillow anyway?

Sleep is such a valuable and necessary thing, that it is hard to mess with what works for me. Sleep is always a sticky topic for me. Many nights I have a hard time getting to sleep. It can take me upwards of 1.5 hours to get to sleep. When I have something that works, I tend to stick with it, and not mess with it. Unfortunately you have to, once in a while, investigate what may work better. Is trial and error the true path in life?

So, do I give the new pillow another chance? Right now I don’t feel like it. My old pillow allows me to sleep pretty well. Do I shop for a new pillow, but not a feather pillow? No easy answers on this one. If only I had an unlimited budget.

Mistakes Charm

Well, it has happened again. Yoshi got into something he shouldn’t have. Someday Sue and I will learn, but for now, we keep making the same mistakes. We know that there are things that Yoshi will chew on if he has access to them.

Today he got into Aphro’s food, and her watering container. I’m sure Aphro isn’t too upset about the food since it was mainly her leftover crumbles that she doesn’t like to eat, but I am a little upset at the water container. Sheesh. As if we don’t already provide enough chew toys for Yoshi.

I’ve wanted to create a list of things Yoshi has eaten/chewed/destroyed for quite a while. Here is the start of that list.

Plastic Items:

  • measuring cup
  • cutting board
  • ice cream pail
  • Aphro’s water container
  • recycling items
  • flashlight
  • BBQ scraper brush
  • container with not-yet-dry red paint
  • Sprout’s brush

Wood Items:

  • salad servers
  • napkin holder

Misc Items:

  • cat food
  • cat litter
  • drain plugs (2 of them)
  • deck of cards

These lists are not complete. I know there are more, and when I remember them I will update this post. Yoshi is a pretty crazy dog, just part of his charm.

[update 1] added paint container and brush
[update 2] added deck of cards

Lazy Busy

Oh to have a lazy day. Nothing like laying around on a hot muggy day. Aphro has this activity down to a T. 🙂

I, on the other hand, have had a pretty busy, yet fulfilling day. Got up at a normal time (7), packed the dog and Sprout into the car, and took Yoshi for a walk. After the walk, I brought Sox a chai latte to enjoy in bed (she got up when we got home though). Sox has brought me coffe in bed twice in the past week, and this was partial repayment.

Then, while Sox got out for her first run in a very long time, I did some housework, played with Sprout, fed Sprout, got Sprout to nap, then got to relax a bit and read some news.

A little blogging, a little lunch, now I am ready for a nap. Instead the fam is about to go out for a walk to one of our favorite parks (Saxe Point Park). Tonight I plan to sleep like a log.

LOTD – Mother Excuses

Late for work? Caught speeding? Didn’t pay your taxes? If you are in a jam an need an excuse to get out of it, chec kout the Mother of all Excuses Place. There are excuses galore here. Everything from really lame (“It wasn’t me!“) to not bad (“I just returned from the USA. They use miles there, and I got so used to it that when I returned the 100 kilometer sign I thought meant 100 miles.“).

The big question is, how do I remember them all for when I need them?
via LockerGnome

Canada Fidgeting

Canada Day Camping trip. Always tons of fun. This year was no exception, but it was mighty different. In past years Sox and I helped out more around camp, and helped entertain/mind children. With our own child to attend to, our perspective was might different.

The weekend was awesome though. Rathtrevor Beach has been a favorite of mine since I was a kid. I can remember going to the store with my father or mom to get ice cream cones. I can remember countless afternoons at the beach, playing in the water, building sand castles, and flying kites. Such a wonderful place.

The weather was spectacular. Thankfully though, we were still allowed camp fires. What goes good around campfires? Singalongs. There were two guitarists in attendance, and the adult songs were one night, and the kiddie songs another.

Around camp there was lots of playing, and a bit of fidgeting on our part. Sox and I had to be careful to keep Sprout out of the sun. Hard to do sometimes. We went for a walk once, and had to make it quick. Not only was it hot (high 20’s), but the sun was up high, so there was no hiding from the suns rays for Sprout. Soon the sunscreen can be slathered on. That will be good.

Yummy food, relaxing with good friends, playing with dogs, a good book. What more could you want from a long weekend?

Pics are here.

Fathers Day Note

This is something I haven’t thought about in a very long time, but Father’s day does have meaning. At least now it does.

You may or may not know, but I do not have a relationship with my father. It is a long and complicated story, and I won’t get into the details here. Suffice it to say, the last time I wished my father Happy Father’s day was close to 10 years ago, and we haven’t really spoken much since then.

Last year Father’s day was something special. That is when Sox and I learned that Sprout was going to join our family. It was a very surreal day, and not much thought was put towards my own father.

This year was a lot of fun, but it was also hard. I read a bunch of baby-type blog posts about how children celebrated Father’s day, and how much the dad enjoyed that. A little part of me was sad. I missed out on stuff like that when I was growing up and I’m still angry with my father about things like this. I long to have treasured memories such as these.

I realized though, I get to make up for that. Sprout is my son. My family gets to set their own course, and I am not doomed to make the same mistakes as my father. This year begins a new life for me full of new firsts, new traditions, new fun, and new surprises. Observing this brings me great joy. This reminds me that I am in control of my life, and that I control my own fate. It reminded me that I have lots to look forward to with my family.

I plan to remind myself of these thoughts every once in a while. It is important to remember who I am and where I came from, but equally as important to remember that I am my own person.

Blood Cookies

Blood, it’s in you to give.

Today was my return to donating blood. I had a bit of a break due to Sprout’s arrival, but it has been in the back of my mind for a while now. Donation number 28. Woohoo. Nothing has changed there, but the front desk lady didn’t recognize me like she used to. 🙁

Besides the wait due to the number of people waiting, the donation went smoothly. All too quickly I was on to the cookies and juice. Mmmmm.

Making an appointment is so easy. If you can spare a couple hours of time, consider trying it at least once. It really is a an excellent way to give back to society.

LOTD – Tearing Philosophy

There are lots of ways that companies can respect their customers. Provide a good product, provide a good warantee/guarantee, live up to promises and expectations.

Or.

Live up to this lovely, and accurate test to see if a company respects its customers.

If a sticker peels off cleanly, without tearing or leaving crap behind, then the company respects their customers. If ithe sticker leaves something behind, the company doesn’t care.

Excellent philosophy.