More Sleep = Happiness

Oh sleep, I love you so... I miss you most of the time. Monday through Friday we play this game where you are just out of reach... Those full undisturbed 8 or 9 hours I would love to have. That just don't happen.
I've begun reading up on sleep since it's one of my favorite things. It really doesn't take much to make me happy. 

Here's some motivation to get MORE sleep:

• You'll make smarter choices. Not getting enough sleep makes it harder for you to make decisions and you lose self-control. I notice that if I'm super tired I eat way too much food and a lot of it isn't healthy. Candy and more coffee are the usual suspects and that just messes my sleep cycle up for that night.
• You'll have a better memory. Not enough sleep = horrible memory. This is the first thing to go with me. Two weeks ago I was so busy and over-tired that I took the subway the wrong way twice... I've lived and worked in New York City enough to know where I'm going... I just wasn't paying attention and I was super tired. Getting the sleep you need helps memories stay in your mind.
• You'll be nicer. If you get the hours of sleep you need you'll be able to handle stressful situations better and react better than on little sleep. No one likes someone who gets angry quickly and snaps at everyone around them. And I highly doubt no one likes being a mean person. 

Now. How do we get more sleep?? 

Don't drink anything caffeinated after 2:30pm!

Make a bedtime and stick to it! My 'bedtime' is 9:30pm. When I see the clock hit 9:30pm I am in bed. I read a little bit and try to turn off the light at 10pm at the latest.

I also spray our sheets and pillows with a nice lavender spray to help us relax and unwind.

If I really need sleep I'll make sleepy-time tea. It's delicious and the process of drinking hot tea helps me to slow down and get ready to dream.

What are your nighttime rituals to get more sleep?

Thanks for reading,

Our New Year's Celebration

 This year our New Year's Eve was very low key. 

And guess what, we had a wonderful time!!! We cooked our second Blue Apron meal - rib eye steak with potato and mushroom hash (delicious!!!), watched some TV and just relaxed.

It was so nice not to get all dressed up, go into the City, deal with crowds of people and pay for an overpriced dinner.

 

Ryan created a delicious cheese and cracker spread for us before dinner.

Bailey was ready for bed at around 10pm... per her usual...

 

But we did get her to take a family photo with us... kind of!

I hope you all had an amazing New Year and you're keeping your Resolutions!!

Thanks for reading,

Hello my Name is Catie... And I'm Messy - Part 3

I have this problem of piling my clothes on our dresser. This is going to sound reallllly lazy... I guess I'm too tired to make the active choice of either - does this piece of clothing need to go in the laundry or be hung back up in the closet. When I think about it and actually write it down I'm embarrassed.

My next 'project' is our bedroom. I've just begun to deep clean it. But I'm nowhere near done!

 

So far I've gone through my clothes and added any of my nice higher end clothing that I haven't worn in over a year to my ThredUp Bag. This is the second time I've used Thred Up and I only have good things to say about the company. Anything they do not choose to purchase they donate. Everyone wins.

I've also gone through my socks and underwear drawers. Tossing out anything remotely worn out. I have way too many pairs of socks.
I'm on a roll! In a couple of days I'm going to go back in to my closet and review it again. I'm feeling lighter already!

Thanks for reading,