Update 2010 July 13

It's been a busy year. I finished my degree, and now we're working on getting projects done around the house. We want to finish the house in order to be able to eventually sell it. However, with housing and job markets the way they've been, I'm just thankful to be employed. Even though this house is too small for us, our current financial situation doesn't afford the opportunity to buy something bigger (and even a move to renting in a bigger place would cost us more than what we currently pay). Therefore, we've elected to make the best of our current circumstances, by making the house as nice as a place like this merits. Most of the improvements have been inside the house, but we know we'll have to spend effort and money on the exterior, too, eventually. A few weeks ago we finished the flooring in the kitchen. Now, we're on to dejunking and decluttering. Over the weekend, we cleared out a box, a laundry basket, and a blue Ikea bag. These had lots of trash, but there was also some stuff we found to take to goodwill, and some stuff to save and/or use. We still have about 20 more boxes to sift through, and we'll probably be able to pare that down to about 10 (not counting storage, which is *another* story...bleh).

My current sleeping situation is...well, it's not where it should be. I suppose it's better than it was a year ago. For some odd reason, I've been waking up early (i.e., around 6:00 or 6:30 AM) without an alarm, even when I retire really late. That may largely be the result of a) daylight savings time, and b) warmer nights. Since we have a swamp cooler instead of central air, the temperatures vary. (Getting it right can be tricky, and it's harder to sleep when it's really warm; you have to have the cooler on the right setting, have the fan on the right setting, have the window open the right amount, and use the right amount and kind of bedding.)

Also, Maura lost a lot of weight in the past 18 months, and stopped using her CPAP, but she still snores sometimes, usually in the morning, and that wakes me up. I hate that. She says she thinks she can stop using it if she just loses 20 more pounds...but I asked her to wear it until then, and she has started using it again.

Anyhow, I usually get SUPER tired by 10:30 or 11:00 PM now, since I've been making a true, consistent effort to avoid any caffeinated drinks after 2:30 PM. However, currently I still don't retire at a consistent time. I recently determined that I really need to hit the sack by 10:30 PM. I want to embark on a steady fitness regimen, too. I'll need to be going to bed on time to have enough energy to do that, especially at first!

So, those are the next two major goals:

1. Go to bed by 10:30 PM every night.

2. Establish a fitness schedule.

#1 is a loop: get to bed early, get up early, tired early, easy to retire early, etc.

#2 supports #1, because working out wears you out a little bit more, so that you're that much more ready for sleep.