After midnight...

I had every intention of going to sleep at a reasonable time and went to bed after I watched the highlights of the football games that had been played this weekend. I have clean sheets on the bed, so I was looking forward to getting under the duvet. I was under it for about an hour in the pleasant company of the animals but I couldn't get to sleep, so I got up again and I have been sitting here ever since amusing myself with various activities behind the computer. 

I'm slightly loopy from my sleep medication but it's not too bad because I had some coffee to sober me up a bit. I will go back to bed again shortly because I think I'm slowly getting into the proper mood for it. I do want to sleep for a long enough time so I will wake up bright and chipper in the morning for the busy day that I have ahead of me. 

I've got my outfit picked out for tomorrow, so getting dressed will be no problem. All I have to do is reach into the closet and pull it out and I will be dressed in no time at all. My hair is in good shape, so running my fingers through it will be all that's required. That's the advantage of having had it newly cut. That's why it's so important that I don't let it get past that crucial state of becoming unmanageable. I have to go to the hairdresser before it starts to bother me. As if going to the hairdresser is such a horrible thing to do.

I'm almost out of perfumes and will have to invest in some new ones, unless I find myself a sugar daddy who will supply me with some. I don't think I'm the kind of woman who would settle for that sort of an arrangement, so that choice is out. I do have a very lovely scented deodorant that I also use as a body spray. I apply it generously and the whole bathroom smells like it afterwards. I use them up quite quickly but I do smell nice. 

A bottle of perfume doesn't last long. At least not the way I apply it. I find I get used to the scent and have to apply more of it in order to appreciate it and I see the amount dwindling quickly in the bottle. I try to get everything out of it that I can before I toss it out. 

Of course my sense of smell is impaired because I smoke, so I need a lot of whatever I use to be able to detect it. It is a bit of a problem. I can never be sure if I'm wearing enough or too much for other people's tastes.

I suppose I will go find my bed now and finally get the sleep I need.  I have to be sensible sometimes. 

I hope you're all having a good night.

Ciao,

Irene

The pesky dog...

The pesky dog won't let me sleep. He woke me up by insistently barking at me and if I ignored him, he jumped on the bed and slobbered on my face. It was very obvious that he wanted me to get up. He kept repeating this, because I kept ignoring him, until there was no other recourse but to get up. He had to go out back to do a piddle.

And now, of course, I am up with a cup of coffee, which is really a cafe au lait because it has more milk than coffee in it. Soit, it will suffice. It actually tastes pretty good, but I'm going to have to make some real coffee to get my head straight. I should just go straight back to bed, but I'm too stubborn to do that. I do like sitting here in this half asleep state and try to make sense. It's a challenge.

I don't know why I take on these challenges when It's so obvious that I'm not up to them, unless this real cup of coffee that I'm having now is going to work quickly and set my head straight. It may happen yet. I'm chugging it down and getting ready to have the next one in my eagerness to make sense. Anything to stop me from yawning anyway...

...I just fell asleep for an hour in my desk chair and  I just woke up again. I feel a lot better now. That little nap was just what I needed. I feel completely refreshed. I just got a little bit chilled and I'll have to put on my bathrobe. 

There, I also got a new cup of coffee because the old one had gotten cold. At least I remained upright in my chair and my head didn't hit the keyboard. I was leaning against the backrest of the chair and my chin was resting on my chest. I did pick the most comfortable position to sleep in, although I don't even remember drifting off. 

*

One of my blogging buddies  said that she applied lotion to her feet every night before she went to sleep and that this gave her very soft feet. I have been thinking about doing the same thing because I have a lot of problems with callouses that are hard to get rid of and I thought maybe the lotion might help that. If I'm good about it and apply it every night, I may get silky soft feet. It would be a good habit to get into.

I also seem to have developed eczema on the fingers of my right hand and am going to have to start applying ointment there. The skin got cracked there and is a little painful. Now I have to remember to apply the ointment in several places and I'm already bad about doing it. It's one of my least favorite jobs. I guess I'd rather scratch than apply ointment. Sometimes I don't take good care of myself. 

I'm equally bad about applying lotion to my arms and legs to prevent dry skin and rough elbows and knees. I do have some very nice smelling stuff that I can apply. I think I'm going to have to develop some new habits and take care of them before I go to sleep at night. They will just have to become new rituals. It's time to turn a new leaf. 

*

I've completely run out of perfumes and have thrown out all the empty bottles. I used them up quickly and I think I maybe applied them to liberally. I can't help myself, I do like to smell nice. I'm going to have to replenish my supply by going to the discount store and picking out some new ones. I'll have to walk over there one of these days. Right now I'm making do with a very nice smelling deodorant, but there's nothing like a good perfume. I do like it when my clothes smell of it. 

*

I have to take the bottle of Febreze and spray all the clothes that are on hangers in my closet, even the ones that have recently been washed. It will give them that nice fresh smell that's so nice when I put them on. A lot of my clothes smell like smoke and I can't keep washing them every time I've worn them just once. Some of the clothes are too delicate for that. That's a job I can do this week. 

It has been nice to discover that some size 16 clothes are way too big on me now and that those can go in the piles of obsolete items. It's a bit of a shame not to be able to wear those clothes anymore, but there are others instead that I can wear and that makes up for it. 

*

I suppose that I will go to bed now as it is late. I will start with my new rituals tonight. I'll get all the lotions out and put them on the bookcase by the bed. Then I'll have no excuse to forget them. I'll turn into a proper woman yet. 

Have a good night and a splendid morning when you wake up. 

Ciao,

Nora

Pleasantly scented...

I just spritzed on some of my new perfume in order to be pleasantly scented. I figured there's nothing wrong with smelling nice in the middle of the night while I'm sitting here all by myself. I do it just for my own pleasure and nobody else's. I don't think Tyke and Gandhi care one way or the other. They are sound asleep and oblivious of how I smell. I'm very much aware of it and it puts me in the proper mood to write. It's made me more alert. 

I should have pleasantly scented candles burning all over the apartment to make the place smell good or constantly walk around with a can of Brise and spray that around. I should make a point to do that regularly and air out the place a lot too. Now that the temperatures are getting milder there's no excuse not to do that. I do open the bedroom window every day, but I should open several windows and get a draft going. That would be mighty chilling. 

My short hair is really short and I'm still surprised every time I look in the mirror. I try to put on my most friendly face when I look at myself and be as feminine as I can be. I am wearing pretty earrings so I don't look too butch. It's better if I view myself in the full length mirror and get a completer picture than when I just see my head. I'm super critical of only my head, but I figure people don't just see it when they see me. They see all of me. 

I've got a good outfit right now that's flattering and that makes me look skinny. I'm already thinking of the subsequent outfits that I can wear that will be equally good. This one spans the crown and I'm being very careful with it and try not to spill anything on it so it will last a while. The clothes smell of my perfume and when I put them on in the morning it is very pleasant. I'm still wearing my clothes in layers, but soon that won't be necessary anymore. I'm managing to stay warm, though, and I only need to wear my black leather jacket when I go out. 

Besides getting skinnier, my feet have shrunk too and I'm now a size smaller than I used to be, so I have to take that into account when I order new shoes or boots. I'm wearing thicker socks with my boots, but I'm running out of them. I don't have enough and am going to have to buy some more. Hopefully they'll have them at the supermarket and the Exfactor can pick some up for me the next time he is there. It's amazing what they sell at the supermarket, but it is very convenient. 

Yesterday went by quickly for a Saturday. I didn't do anything important, but the hours flew by. I do mostly manage to amuse myself and don't get bored with my own company. There's always Tyke to have a good time with and to take for a  walk. It was raining for the latter half of the day and it was very cozy inside. I had the lights turned on and watched television and took a nap. I forgot to hang up the laundry to dry and will have to do that today. It was a day on which one would bake cookies if there were people to eat them. Or to bake a cake. I'm not foolish enough to do that, because I would have to eat it all by myself and there's no way I could handle that.

It's been a successful day if I've managed to achieve serenity and a sense of peacefulness with myself. I do run into obstacles and it's a challenge to resolve those. I apply whatever magic formulas are necessary. I really should delve into the study of mindful living more, which is the westernized version of Buddhism. So far I do my own made up version of it and customize it to my needs, but I'm sure there's a lot I could learn. It might be useful to read some literature on it, although you do have to be careful with that as I'm sure there's a lot of nonsense out there. Probably everybody is an expert. I could be an expert. 

I'm going back to bed for my precious early morning hours of sleep. It's too early to start the day. The sun's not even up yet. It's Sunday and the world will wake up slowly. 

Have a good day.

Ciao,

Nora

The idle hours...

I'm spending the best hours of the night not asleep in my bed, but awake in my bathrobe and slippers, sat behind the computer in the living room with a cup of coffee and a cigarette. My new bottle of perfume was standing on the desk, so I've spritzed some on and now I smell delicious and the experience is extra special. I think I do owe it to myself to get the most out of it. I want all my senses to be aware, although what I'm most aware of is the silence and the darkness, but I do taste the very good coffee and the smoke of my cigarette as I inhale.

The night is my friend and the environment I feel most happy in for the couple of hours that I spend awake. It is the friendliest space to be in, although I am cut off from the night sky and the stars and whatever form the moon is in. The window shades are closed and I'm inside the cozy apartment by the light of a few lamps. I could go outside on the patio and observe the sky, but I'm not curious enough and unwilling to stand in the cold air. If I were a cave woman, I would know, but I've evolved into a modern city dweller who is out of touch with these things. 

My bathrobe and slippers keep me warm. I haven't yet turned up the thermostat. My bathrobe keeps getting bigger on me as I lose weight, but it's a very comfortable piece of clothing to wrap myself in. I need to remember to wash it every once in a while, but it's the only one I have and I'm loathe to do without it. Maybe it's a good idea to get another one for this coming spring. A more lightweight one that is a little easier to wear when the temperatures rise. I'm full of optimism, because the sky has been so blue, and the sun has been shining so brightly, that it's hard not to think that spring is on its way.

There's not one thing in my life that I would do differently than how I'm doing it right now. I'm perfectly contented. That sounds as if I have everything my heart desires, but it really means that I'm easily fulfilled. I've come to wish for one thing only and that is peace of mind and it is something I achieve with regularity. It seems that the less medicines I take, the more serenity I find and I wonder how much of my instability was chemically induced. I seem to be reaching the basic core of myself that's pretty solid and one I can depend on. That's a very self validating thing.

I've ordered a denim skirt on line that's two sizes smaller than the ones I have. It's going to be delivered this afternoon. I can't wait to try it on. I have lots of tops to wear with it, so that's no problem. It will be a good basic piece of clothing to own. I will order a few more skirts over time to replace the ones that are too big. That's the kind of shopping that's very satisfying. 

I wish you the best of days. 

Ciao,

Nora