
It's 7:03 EST.
That would be, 7:03 AM EST.
7:03. Seven oh three. In the MORNING!!
People who know me know that this is an event of significant note. While I am not always asleep at 7:03, I am very rarely vertical.
Not only am I vertical, I am showered. With face washed and ready for makeup, which is laid out in the bathroom ready to use after it de-steams in there. And I have my clothes picked out. And I'm considering starting the tea kettle (it may be TOO early for that mess!).
If we're going to brag and be all forthright and stuff here, I would have to say that I would have been here at 6:48 except Clevis (my friendly neighborhood laptop) was having a difficult time starting up this morning as I shut him all the way down last night in sheer frustration with WordPress. And then there was the other incident involving Sunny attacking my towel-clad head as I sat down on the couch because he was terrified and frightened.
So was I after I dislodged the cat from atop the towel that my head was wrapped in. It got rather dicey.
Especially for 6:fortysomething in the morning!
Now, I have to go ahead and admit that I didn't plan to get up this early. My alarm was not set to go off for 23 more minutes. But even 7:30 would have been a feat of monumental proportions for me. Mornings and I, we are not best friends forever. They are closely akin to a routine colonoscopy to me. Something intrusive and necessary with a lot of prep and not in the least desirable. I've decided to try to change my view on them. (Mornings, not colonoscopies. There are limits to the madness.) Especially since they come every day and are rather an important part of life.
Last night I didn't sleep well at all. I read (I'm re-reading Blue Smoke by Nora Roberts, one I've read at least 4 times before, and I also read some more of The Gifts of Imperfection by Brené Brown). I listened to a little music (this time it was nature sounds instead of tunes because I was sincerely trying to sleep instead of just relax). All of this was to no avail. Sleep was not my friend.
So, I thought.
There are a few things that I have been pondering as of late because there are changes in my life that need to be made. Some of them are not ready for public consumption. Some of them I will be slowly revealing here on the old bloggeroo. This is, after all, supposed to be my journey "Into the Thick of It", "It" being life with my thoughts and family and cats and work and the stuff that makes up who I am. If I can't be me here, then where can I be me?
One of the things that I *need* to do is to get up before everyone else. Not because I love mornings (heaven forbid the thought!), but because...I am hesitant to admit this...but...
OnceIamawakethisiswhenIdomybestthinking.
I hate even admitting that. But it's true.
Once I am awake, this IS when I do my best thinking.
Not my best creative work, per say. Heaven knows that my conversation is not at it's peak yet. I am not going to start scrubbing floors or rotating laundry (although that may become part of the whole here eventually). I am probably not the easiest to be around other people yet, because my errm....charmingly rough edges have not worn down yet this early in the morning.
This early in the morning though, I am just by myself and my thoughts. I am more honest with myself. More optimistic and realistic. More prepared to make changes and kick my willpower into overdrive. More able to sit with the blank canvas of the day and make a list (or five). More able to step back and see what needs to change - not only for THIS day or THIS week, but for THIS woman. I don't know why it has to be this time of day, but it's time that I admit that for me, it is. If I wait much later than this, like when everyone else is up and moving too, these thoughts get crowded out and buried in the rubble of the day.
I'm tired of my thoughts being buried.
So, here are my random thoughts for today. And here's hoping that tomorrow I will have more (at this time of the day again!).
- I've decided that "sufficiency" is going to be my word of the week. I have the tendency to say and/or think that I don't "have enough" of...well...most everything. Not enough time. Not enough money. Not enough energy. Not enough sleep. Not a small enough butt. Not enough not enough not enough. (I'll admit that this line of thinking has been directly influenced by the Brené Brown book from above. We share that last accented é in our names. That was the clencher for me that she is a smarty pants.) I am re-training my thoughts. I do have enough time to do what's really important to me - it's how I use it that matters. I do have enough money to accomplish what I *need* to accomplish - again, it's a matter of choice and use. While I may not have the energy, sleep, butt, etc that I want - it's what I have. And what I have is a gift - every part of it. Even the hiney. (I could have NO ass, afterall. Then how would I sit?) It's time for me to change the way I think about what I have and remember that I have enough. More than enough. Sufficiency.
- Being 30-something and having my skin change is a pain in the butt. It's dry. But it's oily. It has flakes. And pimples. My pores are big. I have bags under my eyes. In short: it is a LOT more work than it used to be. I need to take better care of my skin. I have a skin-care system and am determined to use it more diligently.
- Sunny is afraid of the floor. He is also afraid of our bedroom. I do not know why. He is a cat with many neurosis. Which is probably why he fits so well into this family.
- My house is a sty. My housekeeping skills are never what we would call "on the ball" - I sometimes eek by with "acceptable". But this is on the verge for even me. This afternoon will be "clean or die" time.
- I have so many design ideas, which feels SO good! I have notebooks in my purse (yes - notebookS) and they are filled with sketches and thoughts and notes. I can't wait to open Photoshop and get to work today!
- I am actually anxious for Melanie to wake up. I want some time with her this morning before those school people hog her all to themselves.
- I'm excited about the changes behind the scenes in the plans for the blog. And a little scared.
- I would like to paint my fingernails with clear polish sometime today.
- I want to scrapbook my list of current favorite top 10 songs. That may have to happen with my new collection for this week.
- Getting my camera battery fixed is on the top of the priority list for this week. I've gone too long without taking photos.
There are some of my random thoughts from this morning. (In the MORNING!)
Still can't believe it.
Anyway - in OTHER news....

YAY! It's anniversary time! That means that there will be games, fun, sales, new products, chats, and all sorts of other frivolity and fun! Plus there's a beautiful free kit with purchase and lots of other fun stuff.
The designers made these cool JIF6 collections for you to scrap fast and beautiful pages. They come with the layered page already there for you, so all you have to do is Just Insert Foto. They're all designed with the same color scheme in mind, so you can mix and match and have a blast making an entire album if you want!! Here's my contribution:

There are TONS of other beautiful ones in the store too, so check them out whilst you're grabbing mine (wink wink!!)
I hope that everyone is having a great Monday, and will have a great week. I also hope that you'll come back and share some of it with me. You can follow me via your favorite blog reader (I have this one for my iPhone) or get updates via email. We could get to know one another. It could be fun!
P.S. - Please, PLEASE pardon the construction as I get the blog up to snuff. As you can see, I have done something totally funky and beside itself to the footer, because the original theme had some link to an online pharmacy in the UK. I have nothing against pharmacies or the UK, but I didn't want it embedded in my blog, so I tried to fix it myself and you get this mess. However, I did manage to put my own header on here and make some of my own buttons to replace the generic theme ones, and I changed some colors, too. There is help on the way for me (thank GOODNESS) and I will do my best to make this ugly phase as short lived as possible! Thank you for your kind support.