Thursday, December 11, 2008

Runnin' on Empty

The Bag Lady is running on empty today. That is to say, perhaps a wee bit sleep-deprived. The Rancher started night shift last night, and the Bag Lady had a hard time getting to sleep without him in the house. Not in a scared-to-be-alone way, but more in a gee-I-can-do-anything-I-want kind of way, which, by the way, turned out to be sewing until all hours. The Bag Lady knows how to have a good time, eh?

When the Rancher got home from work at 4 am, he woke the Bag Lady up to cook him something to eat. Which means the Bag Lady got very little sleep. Which means the Bag Lady might be a little giddy later in the day.

The Bag Lady had her appointment yesterday with the physiotherapist. She got an 'adjustment' on her back, and the therapist gave her a core-strengthening exercise to do at home. The Bag Lady really needs to remember to breathe when she is doing things. She has a tendency to hold her breath when she needs to exert herself, which gives her a false strength. This is something that is going to take a lot of work on the Bag Lady's part, because it has become such an ingrained habit. The Bag Lady has another appointment on Friday.

One more thing. It is the Bag Lady's motivational partners' birthday today, so if you have a moment, slip on over and wish her all the best. You can find Marianne here!
Happy Birthday, Marianne!

25 comments:

Tom Rooney said...

It's always tough to adjust when someone is supposed to be around. I know that I half sleep when my kids are still out after midnight and when my wife travels I toss and turn all night. It's just not the same feeling alone in the home. So hope you can catch a rancher like nap today.

Penny said...

I do exactly the same thing with the breath-holding! Whenever I have a blood test I invariably faint for this precise reason. Glad progress is being made, keep up those exercises!

Getting up at 4am to cook is dedication! Do you think I can train Boy to do it for me?

TA x

the Bag Lady said...

Tom - We must all be such creatures of habit! Our poor dog gets totally confused when her Rancher is on night shift! She ends up sleeping all day.....

TA - I must admit, I've never fainted. I've gotten terribly dizzy once or twice (oh, wait, should that read "dizzier"....?)
And ordinarily, the Rancher wouldn't have awakened me to cook for him, but he was really, really tired, and really, really hungry.

Anonymous said...

I have the same sleep patterns when SuperDad is gone. There's no one to make me want to go to bed and so much to get done... It was a long year when he was in Iraq.
(And now, I get up at 4:45am to fix his breakfast and sent him out the door with hot coffee.)

Try to get a nap in today! Maybe practicing your deep breathing skills will help you to relax?

Leah J. Utas said...

Echo the nap advice. And try the deep breathng while you are in your nap position.
Glad the physio underway.

Anonymous said...

I resisted the urge to OUT marianne at mizfit as the birthday woman. now Im regretting :)

core? any specifics with regards to exercises or just general core work?

toddler summons.

send help :)

JavaChick said...

Oddly enough, when Husband is away and I'm home alone I tend to go all crazy with cooking/cleaning/organizing. For some reason it just seems easier to do that stuff when I'm the only one in the house.

Also have to say: Much as I love my Husband, if he woke me up at 4 am to cook him something to eat, I would probably hurt him. Just sayin'.

Anonymous said...

I'm a bit like that when BK's gone, although I tend to want to not sleep until he comes back.

And I'm impressed you got up and cooked for the Rancher.

the Bag Lady said...

kcinnova - I'm not quite as devoted - I set up the coffee pot at night so that when he gets up at 3:30 am to go to work, all he has to do is turn it on, pour it into his thermos, grab his lunch from the fridge and go.

dfLeah - I'm pretty sure a couple minutes of deep breathing while in the nap position will be all I need...to put me to sleep, that is!

Miz - it sounds like you might benefit from a nap today, too - hope the Tornado feels better soon!

Javachick - he doesn't do it very often, honest! (And love your new avatar photo!)

Tricia - eventually you become accustomed to having your partner gone, but it's nicer when they are home!

Melissa said...

I know what you mean about the breathing. My hand therapists keep having to tell me not to hold my breath. (My yoga DVD says at the end "Today I will remember to breathe," so it must be a common problem.)

the Bag Lady said...

Oh, Melissa - it's nice to know I'm not the only one! And yes, it must be a common thing - my therapist seemed not at all surprised.

Ann (bunnygirl) said...

I do the same thing on the rare occasions Dan is gone. I'll think of all the really cool things I can do with him gone and end up staying up all night doing something horribly mundane, like housework. :-(

the Bag Lady said...

BG - I'm not alone! I'm not alone! Other people do this, too.... :)

Hilary said...

I hold my breath just to type a blog comment. Not really, but the not breathing properly thing truly is common. You have better bad sleep habit than my best. Hope the physio does its thing!

Unknown said...

My idea of "ooh I get the evening to myself!" is a night of writing and/or popcorn eating. Leave the apartment in this kind of weather? No way!

I think the reason why I'm not very good at yoga is because of the breathing. It's so easy to forget to breathe!

the Bag Lady said...

Hilary - My sleep habits are not the best, I'm afraid. Very little sleep happens for me.

Sagan - perhaps we all need to take physio to teach us how to breathe!

Missicat said...

That is one thing my exercise trainers drum into folks - remember to breathe! It is easy to hold your breath when exercising for some reason....

I am exhausted. Will you cook for me PUHLEEZE?? hehe

the Bag Lady said...

Missicat - the Bag Lady's kitchen is always open, but she won't hold her breath waiting for you to get here (it's a really long distance....hehehehe)

Emily said...

Sewing until the wee hours of the morn?!? Bag Lady you are so wild and crazy, LOL! The last time I stayed up to the wee hours, I was reading a really good book I just couldn't put down. Yup, I'm proud of acting like I'm 2X my age : ) I could just never see the appeal in staying out late drinking and then feeling like crap for a day. Nope, not for me!

the Bag Lady said...

Emily - yup, I live on the edge. (The edge of reason, sometimes.... lol)

And I've been known to spend many a night reading into the wee hours with a books I just couldn't put down!
We're pretty wild and crazy, eh?

Reb said...

I'm surprised and amazed that you managed to stay awake! But don't nap! It will only make you want to stay awake tonight too. Then you will have formed a habit.

the Bag Lady said...

Actually, Reb, I don't feel the least bit tired.....yet! Of course, when 3 pm rolls around, things might be different!

Aleta said...

Don't you love it when you have some "me time" to do fun things? Wish I could sew!

the Bag Lady said...

Aleta - it's never too late to learn!!

Anonymous said...

Happy Birthday!!!!!!! ;)