INSOMNIA DOESN'T HAVE TO BE BAD

I have been suffering with a really bad case of insomnia. 

I now celebrate anniversaries with it. This year will make year 3 that we have been together.

It's not something that I could have wished and would never wish this on anyone. 

Watching the world change from light to dark to light again; on an almost daily basis is not something that you should do more than once or twice a month. I do it almost 4 or 5 times a week.

I have learned to adapt. Which is not good.

My sleep therapist says, I "have trained my brain not to turn off and thus the awake periods are getting more and more advanced."

He suggested I buy a +Fitbit Flex Wireless Activity Sleep Wristband  to track my sleeping and restful periods.

Well, let me tell you; this has been interesting. 

I have gone from 4 hours of sleep a night to less than 2. I have at least 419 (on average) minutes of restless sleep. Which means I have slept less than three minutes at a time during an average 6 hour  night. It also tracks how many times I have 'awake" moments. That number is well over 600 minutes. In an average day; there are 1,440 minutes in a day. I'm horrible with math but you get the picture.

I am using my awake moments for good, so don't you worry.

I am writing more. It seems like I do my best writing when I'm dead tired. Imagine that!

I am working on a new novel; sparked by a conversation on Facebook between me and my friends. 

What happens when two women suffer with insomnia? When the sun comes up, what was done in the dark will come to light.  I have a title picked out already and now it's time to see what kind of trouble Britney and Nina get into.

So I"m using this to my advantage. I am also taking a travel class. Why? Just because I want to and let's face it. There is not a whole lot to do at 2 A.M. besides troll the internet or watch TV and most of the shows on at that time are telling me how to lose my cellulite, buy real estate or cook a chicken in less than an hour in the new gadget of the week. 

I am also planning my tiny house and although I can't wait to move into it; I also like the process of planning it. 

Did I mention that I have become compulsive as well? Well that is for the next blog. Stay tuned....

WRITING IN TINY SPACES

Many of you ask, how am I going to write in such a small space?

The answer is simple. I'll use every inch of space available to do so. Writing is not a huge deal to me. I can write anywhere and going tiny is going to allow me to do that.

Writing my next novel is going to be much more enjoyable because it will in a space that was created totally  by me.

Sure, I created work space and office space but this is something that I am creating from start to finish. From the first nail to the last screw. I will be in control of how this tiny house looks and functions.

Tiny house building companies allow you to customize your space. They encourage you to create spaces that work for you. 

What better way to do that than to create a space where I will be writing full time? I can't think of another reason to sit in an office at a desk with no windows. 

Building my own tiny house will allow me to use all of my surroundings to write. Imagine being able to wake up; go into your living room and sit at a space that is creatively pleasing to your senses.

Going tiny has it advantages as well. 

I won't have the distractions of a wondering around trying to find something to do. Being in a tiny house; you have about 250-300 sq. feet of space to 'wander' around in.

Even the bathroom will be tiny. So I can't take a Sunday paper into the bathroom with me; it will be more like a Tuesday version. 

In my next blog; I'm going to share some photos of the tiny homes that my 'tiny' will look like. I hope that you continue on this journey with me.

AN AUTHOR AND A TINY HOUSE

What do these two things have in common?

ME!

I am so excited to announce that I am purchasing a tiny house and will be writing full time.

What is a tiny house?

It's just what it says; a house that is tiny. Normally a tiny house consists of square footage that is no more than 500 square feet.

If you want to see the type of house I want; Take a peek at it right here. 


If you scroll through the pictures, you will come across one that is near a pool; that is what the outside of mine will look like. Looking further at the pictures; you will see one that is mostly white. That would be mine!

I found this builder and have fallen head over heels for them. Some people might call it stalker; I call it admiration.
 
This is a local builder, located in Virginia, specializing in tiny house: Tiny House Virginia

I fell in love with the tiny house movement about a year ago. I watch TINY HOUSE NATION faithfully every week and if I can't; my DVR records it for me.

I have found many tiny homes via YouTube and if you want to see some of them, check them out on my subscriptions: Tiny House Videos

I have decided to take the leap of faith and become a full time writer and I will use my tiny house as my office and I will have all of the comforts that I need.

Some people use their tiny home as an in-law apartment. Some people use them as rental properties.

I plan on taking mine on the road! I plan on parking it in an RV park or campground. I want to move around every couple of weeks for the new scenery.

I am so eager to begin this new journey and will post updates as they come. 

IT'S CHRISTMAS TIME AND ALL I WANT...

Hmm, that's a really hard thing to put into words. 


I could say; peace on earth and good will towards man; but you will hear all of that on the +Hallmark Channel in the next month. 
 
I could say my two front teeth, but I think someone already sang that song. 

I could say, two turtle doves but; that's just a little far fetched, don't you think?

So what I want for Christmas is more sales and more reviews. Didn't expect that did you?

Well I'm an author, so of course I want those things. 

If you have read my novels, LET ME JUST SAY THIS or LET ME SAY THIS, AGAIN please go onto Amazon and leave a review. Even if you DIDN'T like it; I'd rather know why you didn't than not know.



So, in this time where I could ask for a lot of things; I'm asking for two simple things. 

Can you do that for me? or should I ask +Santa Claus ?

Part II-THE BEST FAMILY VACATION EVER

So, I left off at the part of getting 13 people in three cars to get to +Virginia Beach. The drive would be about an hour from +Williamsburg  and we had three willing drivers.

corralling 13 people for a picture is not easy

Now, the hard part began. The 2 month old didn't like being in his +CarSeatSite but he had no choice. So the plan was devised that he would ride with Nina (that would be me, since I am way to sexy to be a grandma) Don't laugh, there was a t-shirt that said just that!

However, the one year old, who rode down with me, didn't want to give up her +diva throne to the new little prince, was not happy. Not happy at all. Well until she figured out she could ride in the big girl car seat that would make her sit up higher and have the window to herself. Well, I think daddy being in the car also helped.

Then it was loading 11 other people in cars and heading off.

But wait...who knew the way to Virginia beach. The lead car thought they knew but after 45 minutes, we pulled over to find out what the +iPhone Apps had to say and low and behold, we were only about fifteen minutes away.

Now a break in the action for this PSA. I hate tunnels! I don't like them and as we traveled through it, I kept looking for the escape door, you know like the one in the "+Independence Day Movie" with Will Smith...where the dog Boomer ran just in the nick of time before the tunnel blew up....yes, I figure, if it can save Boomer it has to be able to save me. Well I only saw one door and it was open but it was like a little guard booth. Talk about holding my breath the entire time while we were in there. Well I was nearly ready to pass out from depriving myself of oxygen the entire 3 minutes it took for us to come out of there but just as I felt a little faint, I saw the light. No, not that light...but the light at the end of the tunnel. Now I see why that is such a great motivational sentence." (not really relevant, but I wanted to share)

we are all looking in the same direction
I think.

So we arrived at the beach and instead of driving around endlessly we found an all day parking lot, that was taken over by some college students and charging $15, which is a great money maker.

After paying for our parking, walking two blocks and finding prime real estate on the beach. We laid in the sun all day, swam in the warm waters and enjoyed being mindless and carefree for the day.

Atlas, it is labor day and the last hurrah of summer is upon us, but the memories that we made in Williamsburg

and Virginia Beach will remain with us forever.

Yes, it was the best family vacation EVER!

THE FLINTSTONES VS THE HONEYMOONERS

Yes, today I am talking about two shows that I thought were completely opposite of each other.

One is a based out of Bedrock, USA and the other is based out of New York, USA. The one has a colorful cast of characters who threatens some sort of bodily harm to each other and the other stops cars with their feet.

I was talking about this with a really special guy friend and he told me, "Well you know that The Flintstone's are based on +The Honeymooner's."

Yes, that moment of silence that you just heard was me when he said it, and then I said the most intelligent thing I could,

'No way!" (see I told you it was intelligent)

But there was no way that could be true. after all, Fred never told Wilma he was going to send her to the moon, like Ralph Cramdon told his wife Alice.

However my friend told me, "well, he never told her that, but he talked to Wilma just like Ralph talked to Alice. Hey, if you don't believe me, +Google  it and I came back with..."well ok, I will." (yes another great comeback, wouldn't you say)

So I Google'd it and guess what I found on Wikipedia. It says, "The show imitated and spoofed The Honeymooners.^[8] William Hanna admitted that "At that time, The Honeymooners was the most popular show on the air, and for my bill, it was the funniest show on the air. The characters, I thought, were terrific. Now, that influenced greatly what we did with The Flintstones ... The Honeymooners was there, and we used that as a kind of basis for the concept."^{[citation needed]} However, Joseph Barbera disavowed these claims in a separate interview, stating that, "I don't remember mentioning The Honeymooners when I sold the show. But if people want to compare The Flintstones to The Honeymooners, then great. "

Get the flip out of here!. Who knew...or did you know...because I didn't know that.

Now it makes me wonder what other shows are being done in cartoon form.

I guess that is why I loved The Honeymooner's so much and why I still watch The Flintstones today.

Fly me to the moon and stop my car with my feet!. Tell me what 'throwback' shows you like.