Desiree Moodie

So remember yesterday when I was talking about not being a morning person?

Yeah. About that.

A lot of people underestimate what I mean when I say I’m not a morning person. This is not to be taken lightly dammit. This is serious shit.

Take a look at my typical morning. Now mind you, I wake up at all different times because my schedule is all over the place so this could be anytime between 5am and 10am. But in general, this is what waking up looks like when I have to do it anytime before noon (which is the majority of the week)

Alarm goes off…

I slap alarm clock violently and go back to sleep…

Alarm clock goes off 5 minutes later…

I hit snooze again and go back to sleep…

Alarm clock goes off again…

I hit snooze again…

Husband rolls over and tell me to wake up…

I curse at him…

Cat scratches at bedroom door wanting to be fed…

I yell “shut up” grab a shoe and throw it at the door…

By the time I’m cursing and throwing things, I’m kinda sorta up. But I’m not at all happy about it. In fact, I’m liable to go about my morning routine still cursing under my breath. I rarely crack a smile before 12 o’clock pm.

It’s that serious folks.

I began to think that if I could somehow make my mornings more bearable the overall quality of my life (which, make no mistake, is pretty darn good despite my complaints) would improve a bit.

I came across this ebook (FREE on Leonie Dawson’s awesome website)

I was skeptical (because after decades of trying, I’d all but given up on the prospect that mornings and I would ever get on nicely with one another)  but I downloaded it and read it.

I was then inspired to create my own sort of ‘morning routine’.

Now granted, having a morning routine means actually getting up earlier (as opposed to waiting until 30 minutes before you need to leave the house and then scrambling around, and cursing, like a maniac) but the point is to slow down and ease into the day.

I tried it.

And I liked it.

Don’t get it twisted though. My mornings haven’t been transformed once and for all forever and ever. I’m definitely not consistent with this yet.

But when I do make the time, I notice a phenomenal difference in how my day goes overall (and how I sleep that night).

So…my routine…

The very first thing I do when I get out of the bed is stretch. I do a quick yoga sequence on my dining room floor while cuddling with my cat (yes, at the same time…the cat never leaves me alone when I want to stretch so I have to multitask here).

Then I grab my journal, pour myself a cup of Prometheus (the capsaicin in the drink really gets my blood flowing) and sit down in my couch. I enjoy the quiet while I sip my drink and do my morning pages.

After that, I pull a card for the day. I’ll usually go about getting ready for the day afterward but if I have an extra hour I’ll exercise and then tidy the house a little first.

I try not to check my email until the whole routine is done. By the end of it though, I’m feeling pretty good and I’m ready to get to work.

Now to work on implementing my routine more than once a week…

 

 

 

 

 

I’m not a morning person. 

Not by any stretch of the imagination.

This may partly because I like to keep late hours. But I think it’s also because I don’t always sleep that well. 

Maybe it’s because I spend so much time staring at screens (phone screen, laptop screen, iPad screen, TV screen…you get the picture). All those electronic waves must leave my brain pretty fried. I used to have this routine where I’d turn everything off and then stretch and journal before I went to bed but..uh..yeah. Kinda fell off on that one.

And then one day I had this novel idea.

Why not use technology to solve my sleep problem which is undoubtedly caused by technology?

 

 

Sleep. There’s an app for that.

After searching through (free) apps on my iPod, I came across this one and downloaded it.

Seriously, this app is fricking awesome. It has different programs that has different durations depending on f you want to relax, want a deep sleep, are already drowsy etc. There are a multitude of background sounds you can choose from, varying from sounds of nature to one called “white noise”. You can even choose several and play them as a combination (“cat purring” is currently one of my faves, especially since I don’t let Snarf sleep in the bedroom anymore).

Now it could be due to some sort of placebo effect but I swear I’ve never slept so well in my life. 

And then, get this, you can set a program to wake you up too. 

As difficult of a time I have settling into a good sleep, I have an even harder time getting out of bed. The alarm function on this app wakes you up gradually and gently (be sure to set it for about a half hour before you should actually be up to give yourself some time).

Like I said, this could all just be in my imagination, but even the illusion of my sleep/wake cycle being improved is definitely worth it.

 

 

Disclaimer: Ratchetness is about to ensue. If you are ratchet-intolerant or have a system that is sensitive to ratchet, continue to read at your own risk.

So I started watching  Love and Hip Hop NY last season at the constant prodding of my cousin.

I swear I didn’t want to like it. I didn’t want to get hooked. But I soo did (so many brain cells I will never get back, I tell you).

Anyways, when I saw the previews for L&HH Atlanta, I immediately thought “this is way past my ratchet threshold”. But of course, my cousin and her uncanny powers of persuasion (she is an attorney after all) had me watching  faithfully every Monday.

Monday night was the finale (I’m NOT watching next season I SWEAR). But I did want to give my thoughts on the finale and the season itself.

I broke it down by the different story lines:

 

Kirk and Rasheeda – Kirk’s apology was sorry. And he only apologized once he realized how much he stood to lose monetarily. Cheaper to keep her. He knew exactly what Rasheeda meant when she said “do you” (or rather what she didn’t mean). Big ups to Rasheeda for standing her ground. I don’t believe they’re really on the outs though so they should be OK.

 

Stevie/Joseline/Mimi – FAST: Stevie has been actively trolling Joseline for the entire season. Whyyy did anyone think the finale was going to be any different? Joseline is an idiot for watching Mimi go through what she went through and then thinking it was going to be different for her. Mimi’s new boobs look good. Stevie J has issues and needs counseling.

 

Kay Michelle – Good luck with your singing career.

 

Ariane – Who?

 

Erica/Scrappy aka Darryl/Momma Dee – Momma Dee needs to get a man and stop trying to date her son. Kudos for Erica for standing her ground and kudos to Scrappy, I mean Darryl for getting clean.

 

Benzino – Benzino needs to find himself  a neck before he starts looking for a girl.

 

Traci and Drew – Who?

I’m sure the reunion episode will be…interesting.