I made a killer dinner for my visiting mother yesterday: chicken and chickpea veggie-packed burritos… yum. And then a taste of whole wheat baguette and provolone, paired with a steaming hot cup of tea and a handful of premium dark-chocolate almonds. Quite the Easter feast… a splurge for me, anyway.
Well dark chocolate may be beneficial to your health, but it also contains ample quantities of caffeine. I realized this last night while staring wide-eyed at the ceiling…brain was chugging along merrily while body desperately craved sleep. However, my dear upstairs neighbour must have been away for the weekend, because the silence was blissful…
But altogether, this past weekend I got more shut-eye than I’ve had for quite some time; and, with the added sleep, the absolute wackiest dreams ever. I mean, totally whacked as in flying horses, deep outdoor wells of spinach, an alarm-clock store on a yacht, and a parade of people that I would never have remembered during my waking hours (like a co-worker from a retail job I held 10 years ago). There has to be a scientific reason for that. A well-rested brain goes nuts during REM? Who knew?
When I was younger I tried to keep a log of my dreams, but my interest quickly succumbed to the frustration of trying to remember what had happened after waking. There is that point right between sleep and waking where your body is still frozen but your mind begins to “see” the dream as a dream… that is the point at which you have to remember what happened by refreshing the sequence in your head…. once you’re in full daytime mode it’s too late!
But I did manage to nap for a few hours…Never underestimate the placebo effect of Gravol.
Also! Drinking imitation Pepto-Bismol directly from the bottle is a survival skill that everyone should master. I’ve done it on a train (on the way to a funeral with a baby shrieking in my ear), in a bus several times, and at 6AM before swim practice. Mind over matter and a chaser of ice-cold water….
I still remember a friend of mine pulling out a bottle of the pink stuff after we drove to Toronto for the orientation at UofT. He took a swig as if it were Gatorade… wiped his mouth like he was on a Nike commercial, gave a sigh of satisfaction and replaced the cap; it made me cringe. Well, that, and we had to ask passers-by for quarters for the parking meter…
Fun times.
