The 25-Minute Cup of Coffee, Insomnia, and Faith

On a bleary Monday morning (yesterday), I stumbled down the stairs earlier than usual (to get ahead of a busy week) to make a cup of coffee.

Well, the Keurig handle jammed, ruining the pod. I removed the pod, tried again, and ruined another pod.

Fine.

I grabbed a third and headed next do to my son's house to make finally make that cup of coffee. 

Now I always joke how I need directions for a can opener. And Timothy's Keurig is very different from mine. So it took my foggy brain a few minutes to remember how this one worked. And then it took a few minutes more for the Keurig to decide to work (meaning: it needed time to warm up).

The entire process, from first stumble to sucessful cup of coffee, took twenty-five minutes. Instead of gaining time, I lost it.

Chalk it up, right?

Tonight is a later-than-usual work night for me due to me helping out on the news side so others on our team can cover election results. 

Last night was also, unfortunately, the night Faith, my calico with cancer, had to fast for her tests today.

Timothy and Daniel graciously took her to the animal hospital, which is an hour away. They were told to plan to stay all day.

So I got up at 2:30 this morning to take Faith's food away. 

Now Faith finds her security in habit. She sleeps by day, eats and drinks mostly by night, and does everything exactly the same way every day. You can imagine how she felt when the food went away.

So I was strategic. The FOOD went away; her bowl remained. 

Faith was chilling at the end of my bed and didn't realize right away her food was gone.

But the middle-of-the-night task kept me awake.

I was on edge, waiting for Faith's panic.

I thought of how tired I'd be on Tuesday, working a long shift.

I was irritated at being awake - and did I leave any kiblets on the floor?

So I leaped out of bed, made sure all rogue kiblets were off the carpet, and once again tried to will myself back to asleep.

I failed.

And then I didn't.

At some point, the alarm went off and I hit snooze.

When I woke up, late, I realized I hadn't hit snooze. I'd shut off the alarm, and I was late.

By now Faith was roaming all three floors of the house looking for food.

I made coffee, successfully, with my own Keurig, signed onto the computer to check email, and what do I hear?

Crunch, crunch, crunch.

Yep, Faith found a few stray kiblets on the rug.

I flew out of the chair and picked up the last little, half-mushy kiblet in front of her. Oh, the look on her face!

Her food bowl was empty, but I didn't want her to think in her little cat mind that I was the taker-away of the food.

I put the kiblet back in front of her.

Wish her luck today with her oncology testing, please.

No Story Round-Up Today

With my first day back at work yesterday, which was immediately followed by a WriteOn Joliet meeting last night, today is simply a day for meeting deadlines and then taking part of the weekend to find and piece together half-finished posts.

For those who are new to this blog, I'll leave you with two items.

One: the paragraphs below shows where to find my various writings (fiction and non-fiction) and social media sites.

Two: Why can the mind stay so awake at night only to resist waking up the following morning? 

Have a great Friday, readers, writers, and BryonySeries fans. 


Non-bylined features:

Monday through Saturday I assembled my non-bylined works - brief posts and calendar listings - into one convenient file and posting them on Facebook in the evening, so readers can easily choose the ones they want to read.

One can also find those event listings, the Gotta Do It calendar, as well as the pets, health, faith, and arts and entertainment calendars, under the sections tab on the left hand side of http://www.theherald-news.com/. Click on "features" and the topics drop down.  Gotta Do It runs under "people."

Community news? Again, under the sections tab, under features, and by topic. Updates are posted on these days in print and web (and some only on web on other days as I have the time): 

 Social media:

Daily updates: I do post the briefs and calendars on Twitter during the week, so you're welcome to follow me at @Denise_Unland61.

BryonySeries stuff: I post curated content relating to the BryonySeries on Twitter at @BryonySeries. And assorted related content at www.facebook.com/BryonySeries. And of course, please follow the adventures of Bertrand the Mouse on Instagram at bertrand_bryonyseries.

If you're a writer anywhere in the world, you're welcome to jon WriteOn Joliet's Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/groups/writeonminooka/?ref=bookmarks. We're based in Joliet, Illinois, but we love to meet and interact with writers outside our area, too.

And, of course, check out our website: writeonjoliet.com.

Upcoming events:

Once Timothy Baran is done updating this page, these will listed here: https://www.bryonyseries.com/fetes-and-feasts. 

Check out the progress he has made so far. Each square is hand-built. And be sure to "hover" your hand over the first square. Note: this only works (so far) with the desktop version.

But he's also made A LOT of changes to the website. So be sure to roam around a bit.

Books and Such

Information on my books (including where to buy) along with upcoming events is at www.bryonyseries.com. If you have any questions, email me at bryonyseries@gmail.com.

Thank you for reading The Herald-News. And for reading this blog. And if you've read (or plan to read) any of my books. Your support is greatly appreciated.

BryonySeries Throwback Thursday: What Insomnia Has Taught Me

Monday, April 7, 2014

What Insomnia Has Taught Me

   *  That the problems of the world can't be solved at 2:30 a.m.

   *  That practicing relaxation may not bring sleep, but will provide some additional rest.

   *  That God might be teaching patience in frustrating circumstances over which one has little to no control, like falling asleep on command.

   *  That this, too, shall pass. The urge and need to sleep is an overwhelming one. No matter how severe the insomnia, eventually, everyone does sleep.

   *  That it is possible to function, and function well, on less than optimal sleep, especially when not self-inflicted.

   *  That I now have plenty of time to get that project done that I worried over not having enough time to accomplish (typed with a touch of sarcasm).

   *  That God invented caffeine for a reason.

   *  That my sleeping bag will feel totally awesome at the end of today.

   *  That power naps are golden...and that rejuvenation and increased productivity come from taking pauses in the day, not charging full speed ahead 24/7.

   *  To thank God for the gifts of full nights of rested sleep when they do occur AND

   *  For the insights that work their way into my brain in that area between alertness and "can't quite get back to sleep."

   *  That I probably have plenty of company.

   *  That, for whatever reason unbeknownst to me, I'm where God wants me in this moment, and that no greater blessing exists for me than to be in God's will.

  

What Would a Vampire Do?

Yesterday, I posted the following to WriteOn Joliet's Facebook page:
6 Ideas to Boost Creativity this Halloween.

You can read the entire article here: http://thevisualcommunicationguy.com/2016/10/24/6-ideas-to-boost-creativity-this-halloween/

No. six read: Think of the situation as a vampire would.

Now since I write vampire fiction, I often think in terms of how vampires, or at least "my" vampires" approach situations.

But I've never thought about it generically, in my terms, as I wander through my day.

On weekend when I'm on call, I stay up way past my bedtime, in case I'm needed. Consequently, when I finally did try to sleep, my mind was too awake (figures, right?). So I decided to put the idea into action. What would a vampire do in this situation?

I imagine it'd be pretty frustrating to be lying awake in dirt well past daylight.

Except vampires don't sleep, right?

What would a vampire do, I mused. Why, he would go dormant.

So I did. And it worked.

Even the hungry cats didn't wake me up when I snoozed past their 4 a.m. breakfast time.