To Sleep, Perchance to Dream… Happiness Project Phase One

“Life is something to do when you can’t get to sleep.” ~ Fran Lebowitz

I’ve found my dream self-help book. It’s called “The Happiness Project” by Gretchen Rubin. She decided that she could be happier, and she made a research project out of what makes people happy, and then implemented what she found, month by month, topic by topic, in her own life, with much success. One of my book clubs had the book as a selection, and Pat got me a copy of my own for Mother’s Day. I’ve not read the whole thing yet, because I tend to get overwhelmed thinking of implementing a lot of things at once. So I’m using the book chapter by chapter, and implementing one idea at a time until it’s a habit, after which I will switch to the next one. I’ll document my progress here in my blog.

For my first phase, I chose sleep. First, because I’ve found that if I’m tired, the effort involved in making big changes in my life just doesn’t happen. Second, because due to research and experience I know it’s really important and can affect my health and safety as well as how I feel and act. Third, there are instructions in the scriptures. D&C 88:124 … “Cease to sleep longer than is needful; retire to thy bed early, that ye may not be weary; arise early, that your bodies and your minds may be invigorated.” There’s also the proverb, “Early to bed and early to rise will make a man healthy, wealthy and wise.” Fourth, our local church leaders have listed it as a rule. Get up early. Go to bed at a reasonable hour. (Rule 1, Katy Stake Mission Rules).

By doing some reading I learned these cool things about sleep:

 You sleep better in a cool room than in a warm room.

 There are foods that will help you sleep. Turkey, cheese, milk, and bananas are among them.

 Any time you snore, it means you have some kind of breathing problem or obstruction. No exceptions.

 You can sometimes fix positional snoring (the kind where the sleeper snores only on his/her back by sewing half a tennis ball into a pocket on the back of a t-shirt. The sleeper will roll on his/her back, be uncomfortable, and roll back onto his/her side or front.

 Most of us wake up quite a few times during the night, but we don’t usually realize it, because we go back to sleep so soon.

 Women have more slow-wave sleep than men (the really restful kind).

To activate this phase (that sounds so scientific) of my project I determined that I need approximately 8 hours of sleep a night, and decided on a bedtime and wake time I could live with consistently. For 2 weeks I have gone to sleep at 10pm and gotten up between 6am and 6:30am. Each night I started my bedtime routine at 9pm, which included scriptures and prayer, getting dressed in pjs and ready for bed, and laying out my clothes for the next day, and getting the boys to shower and get ready for bed.

Benefits:

1. I’ve been in a better mood overall. It’s amazing how strong my resistance to crankiness is when I get enough sleep.

2. I’m more alert and less tired. My focus is better, I’m not groggy when I wake up, and I have less forgetful, foggy moments during the day. I have no daytime drowsiness when I get enough sleep.

3. I get more done. When I’m tired, I work slower, and even simple tasks seem overwhelming. When I’m awake, I’m more aware and motivated about what needs to be done, and naps (intentional or unintentional) don‘t cut into my productivity hours.

4. My family has gone to bed a little earlier as well, since we have scriptures and prayer at 9 and then send them off to do their bedtime routines.

I missed two nights of getting to bed on time. One night I had to deal with stuff relating to a child’s activity that couldn’t wait until the next day. The other night was the same thing and just a day packed too full. The effect on me the next day was so noticeable. I was cranky, drowsy, and just not together.

Now that this is a habit of sorts, I move on to phase two, exercise. I’ll let you know how it goes. 


Here’s an update on what’s happening with our family. Stephen and Sarah were both involved in our Stake’s recent musical production of “From Cumorah’s Hill”. This has been an event of much practice and preparation. Many many of the youth in our stake were involved, according to the directors, around 250 youth. The program testifies of the value of the Book of Mormon and it’s messages and applications for our day. I was involved on a smaller level with the practices as a section leader in the early stages, which means I plucked out parts on the piano when the groups were divided. Stephen and Sarah protested at first at being in it, although both of them can sing. Later on I think they were proud to be involved. There were to be two performances, but due to massive local interest in the production, there were three performances plus a dress rehearsal that those who were unable to obtain tickets could attend. The performance was at the local high school. In a group of that number, it’s not possible to have a performance where everything is perfect. In the first performance, one of the youth threw up at the end of the production. And just as the curtain closed and everyone was distracted by the spewing in the front, Stephen fainted in the back on the tallest riser. Luckily for him, his friend Drew was watching and caught him. No little deacons were harmed in the incident. We were grateful that the Lord watched out for him and inspired Drew to watch out for him and keep him safe. Being 6 feet tall, he would have fallen hard.  We said a prayer that he would be alright for the remaining performances, and he was.  The performance was wonderful and well worth the effort the youth put in.  It's something they can always remember. 

Stephen, Sarah, and two of Sarah's friends ready to go to Cumorah

You can see most of the group here.

Last month we signed Danny up for Swim team. He enjoys the water and isn’t afraid of it, but I decided it was time for him to learn to swim properly. When he started out he could only float on his back, do kind of an underwater frog stroke, and doggy paddle in spurts. I told him, “I don’t care if you’re the fastest, all I care about is that you are the one that tries the hardest. He’s taken that to heart. This last week he had his first swim meet. I was worried about the reaction at the meets when he swam a little slower than the rest and sometimes had to grab the rope for a break during the more difficult strokes, and he’s done a lot of belly flopping during his dives off the platform, but it’s been a wonderful encouraging environment for him. There was another little girl there during the meet that swims very slowly. One arm is paralyzed and she cannot use it. But she keeps going and going with her own special stroke and gets across the pool. When she gets across, her smile warms everyone and she gets more cheers and clapping than the fastest swimmer in the pool. I volunteer as a timer, which means I’m one of the ones with the stopwatch who records the official times of the swimmers. It means I have to watch for the light at the beginning, watch closely for the exact minute whatever swimmer body part touches the deck at the end, and have a quick trigger finger (apparently fingers are quicker than thumbs). I also get a bit wet when they dive, but it helps me stay cool during the meets. This last week, Danny received a certificate for being Swimmer of the Week for his age group from his coach, and a Personal Best ribbon for beating his time on freestyle at the meet. We were very proud, and a double scoop of chocolate at Ritter’s Frozen Yogurt was definitely in order.

Danny also participated in his second piano recital last week. He played a piece called “A Little Salsa, Please”, which he had memorized long before the recital. He seems to have Brittany’s talent for memorizing (he certainly didn‘t get it from me), and he’s really enjoyed the syncopated rhythm of the piece. Tonight he’ll have his interview at school to choose a band instrument. He’s been leaning towards trombone, trumpet, and saxophone, and the idea of percussion is intriguing as well. I took him to the stake UIL concert, and there he heard and enjoyed performances on flute and bassoon as well. We’ll see what he chooses.

Our tomato plants have really been taking off due to careful supervision by Pat and some compost and special dry and stinky “chicken poop” fertilizer that we put into the potting mix. We have all cherry tomatoes: Sun Gold, Sweet Chelsea, Texas Wild, and Juliet are the ones I can think of right off hand. The basil is also doing really well this year, and I’ve used it in pasta and tomato dishes several times already.

Sarah had her 18th birthday on May 20th. We had to have a conversation about this, because she felt that now that she is 18, she shouldn’t have to tell me where she was or where she was going. I informed her that not only is it just the considerate thing to let people who live with you know where to find you, that as long as she lived under my roof she would have chores and curfews, and that since the car she is driving is not hers, I needed to know where it was at all times as well, and any rule or curfew breaking would result in loss of the use of the car. Since she has less than a month left at home, I felt that was reasonable. Sarah’s friends had a surprise party for her at the park, and she made sure to eat in the living room (a privilege reserved at our house for those over 18). She had cards and phone calls and presents, and from us she received the traditional luggage set we give to all our children when they turn 18. She went to prom with her boyfriend Abel. She wore a turquoise blue sparkly dress she got at the Lone Star College Prom Dress Giveaway. Pat added large straps to so her shoulders would be covered, and of course she looked beautiful. Some of her friends went to San Antonio the day after Project Prom, but due to previous years’ experiences, we told her she couldn’t, and she came home and slept most of the day. She went to the pool with her friend Idalia, Idalia’s little sister, and Danny when she woke up, and realized another perk of being 18; she got to stay in the pool during adult swim.

Sarah and Abel before prom

We also hosted a surprise 50th birthday party for our friend Mark. He is less than a year older than Jim, so it’s served as a prelude of things to come. Our friend Melodie, who does cakes, made a lovely and delicious cake that looked like a gravestone, complete with marbled fondant, his birth year and birthday year, and RIP Mark’s youth. Mark’s wife told him, “We’re going with the Cline’s out for lunch on Saturday to a Brazilian restaurant”. When they arrived at our house, a lot of people jumped out and yelled “Surprise”. He says he was truly surprised and we like to think so.

Mark with his cake

Danny and I will head out to a family reunion in June, where we will hang out with my sister Laura, her daughter Kira, and my grandmother, GG (grandma great) to Danny. It struck me recently that if Brit and Chris and/or Derek and Mary get busy with some rabbit killing, GG (who is in remarkably good health for her age) could become Triple G and we could get a 5 generation picture some time in the relatively near future. No pressure girls… ;)

This week’s recipe is a simple one. These are the oven fries we took to the ward’s “Love your State” dinner, along with some Maryland Crab Cakes (No I‘m not from Maryland. But I didn‘t feel like making Utah funeral potatoes or green jello salad that day). Both the crab cakes and fries were well loved, but the fries are much cheaper and easier to make. They also go well with fish, hamburgers, or chicken.
Old Bay Oven Fries
 2 Tablespoons melted margarine or olive oil

 2 tsp Old Bay Seasoning

 ¼ teaspoon garlic powder

 1/8 tsp black pepper

 3 medium russet potatoes, wedged thin or cut into ¼ inch slices
Lightly grease a large baking sheet. Put oil or margarine in a bowl. Add seasonings and blend. Toss potato wedges/slices in the mixture to coat. Spread in a single layer in prepared pan. Bake at 425 degrees for approximate 30 minutes, stirring after 15 minutes, to desired stage of doneness.
How quickly the potatoes cook will be partially determined by the thickness of the potato pieces.

Note: I use olive oil and freshly ground pepper.

Enjoy! All our love to those of you who care enough to read about us.