A List, A List, A List

I sometimes go through periods where I have trouble sleeping. I haven't pinpointed what the trigger(s) might be for insomnia or me waking up unexpectedly in the middle of the night, and this past Sunday began a pretty interesting 5-day run. It's so strange - I haven't been going to bed at a reasonable hour since Thanksgiving but I can usually fall asleep within thirty minutes or so anyway. But, while I've been getting to bed around 1:30, I have woken up every night between 4:00 and 4:30 and staying awake for at least an hour and a half.

What, you might ask, has kept me entertained during these one and-a-half to two hour intervals each night? Well. Let me tell you what I've been accomplishing while the rest of you have been sleeping soundly:

• Rearranging all shoes according to type and frequency of being worn
• Packing away all summer sandals and shoes in light of impending snow
• Lining up winter boots according to height
• Gathering all scarves, hats, and mittens in one cute box
• Looking for econo-size static guard that I require during winter
• Taking inventory of coats (I need a decent navy)
• Clearing out accumulated junk under my bed
• Online Christmas shopping
• Online Christmas wishlist making
• Planning possible Christmas activities
• Eating one red apple
• Organizing all CD's according to genre AND color
• Dusting entire room - - no allergens for me, thank you!
• Cleaning bathroom sink
• Re-folding sheets and towels that were stacked haphazardly in closet
• Obliterating drawer of junk in console table
• Gathering DVD's back to bookshelf and coordinating each correct disc with correct case
• Resetting pre-programmed stations on stereo
• Setting all clocks to same time EXACTLY
• Deleting embarassing songs from itunes library (I'm looking at you, Spice Girls)
• Creating verb-based playlists (ie - Driving Fast, Running in Rain, Dancing in Car, etc.)
• Doing one load of dark laundry
• Finishing two books
• Catching up on many, many blogs
• Lots of wikipedia-ing
• Drawing floorplans for library I someday want in my house
• Updating list of what I want to read, hear, and watch
• Throwing out past-expiration prescriptions
• Getting rid of makeup that was a bad idea to begin with
• Taking super long shower
• Doing excellent conditioning treatment on hair. Twice. (Redken All-Soft Heavy Cream)
• Using exfoliating mask and renewing cucumber eye-things
• Moisturizing like a fiend
• Beginning to straighten hair, and then going to sleep halfway through

Things that I haven't been doing but really should:

• Sleeping
• Studying

It seems that my priorities and self-discipline need to be reconciled at some point...

Note: The hair thing was interesting, I had to finish in the morning, of course.

Introspection? Anyone?

So. I was not disappointed with the BYU-Utah game on Saturday. It was a good game with a satisfactory amount of drama that probably did bad things to my heart. I love very few things in this world more than I love BYU football and a competitive fourth quarter. Go Cougars.

I've been thinking a lot lately about the "perfect moments" in life. I don't remember when, but my dad coined the phrase/thought/philosophy that we are occasionally caught in the perfect moment and that it's beneficial if not important to pay pointed attention to situation or circumstance. Someone (my parents I'm sure) began taking note of perfect moments as we were together and the idea has been with me for a number of years. I mostly remember being conscious of pieces of perfection while enjoying time spent with family or friends, seeing beatiful places, or even the sense of contentment that accompanies a good book or nice walk.

Although it lends itself to scientific process more than I like to admit, I've been trying to remember and pay attention to the role I play in creating the perfect moment; my actions or attitude that may make it easier for me to enjoy a brief interlude of calm in everyday life. I haven't come to a satisfactory conclusion, but have certainly enjoyed taking the time to consider it. It's probably just the impending end-of-semester rush and mental preparation for a new year but what a great opportunity to look at old pictures stored on the computer, review great books read and music listened to, and think about all of the new stuff that we've learned in the past weeks and months. I don't know that any of these things will make me appreciate the good things in life any more than usual, but at least they help to remind me of perfect moments that I've been lucky enough to enjoy.

So. Freaking. Excited.

"I feel really warm around you, and my tongue swells up..."

... and that's pretty much how I am feeling right now. In a good way, though. I actually just heard this line while watching the movie "Elf" with my roommate. I know it's a special breed of cheesy, but I've been thinking recently that I need to be more diligent in vocalizing the things that I am appreciative of and express thanks to people in my life.

I'll give you a moment to catch your breath and dry your tears. That was, after all, the most emotion I've put out in the world for a while.

It just so happens that this sentiment seems to fall right in line with the Thanksgiving holiday, making it very convenient for me to be just another one of the crowd of seasonal thanks-givers. Nonetheless, I'm going to make the effort. A 10-day countdown to Thanksgiving day seems appropriate. I'll have to start on that tomorrow though, because I am definitely feeling grateful for a warm bed and the joy that is the heated mattress pad.

Sheesh

I am such a hypocrite. I spend way too much of my time checking blogs and when they aren't updated with some frequency, I am very much annoyed. So, I resolve to at least make a greater effort than I have been recently.

There has been so much going on in the past few weeks that I remember sections mostly in slow, dull, re-runs of work and school. However, I hope that the onset of the holiday season will bring some sort of reprieve to the monotony in which I seem to be stuck.

I purposely designed my class schedule this semester with the idea that I wanted to enjoy the Christmas atmosphere. Being wholly immersed in school and work for the past three fall semesters made it difficult to appreciate the end of the year as being anything other than a mad rush; completing the semester and beginning to prepare for the next seemed to overtake November and December. So, although I know that I will be paying for my light workload when January rolls around, I am looking forward to the next month and a half. Things are looking up.