Hello 3am, Again

Insomnia.  My oldest friend, it is clear to me now that you are back again.  I am hoping you will be going very very soon and I know I am not supposed to talk about you because that will keep you in my mind but maybe discussing our relationship will send you packing.

When did we meet?  As a child I was a bad sleeper and afraid of the dark, but I think it was sometime during High School we really became aquainted.  I remember all those nights lying in bed for hours just waiting to get to sleep.  And then when I finally did, a few hours later you returned.  Up I was and out watching TV waiting for sleep to tap me back on the shoulder.  It was tough.  I really hated you in Year 12 but I was determined not to let you affect me or my grades.

Then there was Uni and you were still hanging around and what about my final year? I was so burned out and you finished it off and broke me.  That was when I met another two friends, Depression and Anxiety.  I remember my Dr asking, was I not sleeping because of the depression or was it the not sleeping that began the depression?  I really do not know how I finished that year and was actually able to graduate.  But I feel you took something from me that year, I felt I lost my passion and drive and I did not get that back for many many years and even now I wonder if I have it all back.

I think we will skip over the rest of my 20s, that isn't a blog post that is a whole book!  And now here we are.  With the house and wedding I understood why you came back and once things settled down I found sleep again.  I enjoyed it so much.  But lately I have been up and now I feel it isn't a few bad nights, it is you again.  I go to sleep so well but then around 3ish, I am up, and my brain starts ticking over and off we go.  So here I sit, glass of milk, not really watching the DVD I have playing on the TV, and surfing the web/playing games on the ipad.  

I know how the rest of the morning will turn out because it is the same every time.  I will crawl back into bed at 5am when I finally start to feel tired.  Then my alarm will go off at 5:45 and I will turn it off and continue sleeping, which means the early morning work out I have been doing will not get done and, fingers crossed, I do it when I get home.  Hubby will then wake me up around 6:30 - 7:00 when I will have a shower and try to wake up.  I will get to work, fortunately I don't have a formal start time but a window of time in which I need to turn up, but I will get there a little later than I planned.  I will then wonder how I arrived, as the car trip feels like a blur.  Around 11am I will hit the wall and then in the afternoon feel the need for bed.  I will come home and collapse on the couch and rest and then the evening will be ruined because I just won't have the energy to do the housework etc that I had planned on doing.  Then we go two ways; you give me the night off and I have a great nights sleep and tomorrow will be a much better day, or you return and I say "Hello 3am, Again."

Thank you

Two small words, and for many so hard to say but for the person on the receiving end it could really make your day.  I work in a very thankless job.  It isn't management or anything like that, it is just the nature of the job, lots of money and lots of emotions for clients.  I have been working quite hard on one particular job and did what I needed to, ahead of time and the clients still complained.  Today it just got to me.  They could have said thank you for the money so far and could you please advise when the rest will be forthcoming? But no, that seems too difficult.

I used to work in a department store when I first left school.  People were harsh but every now and then someone would say thank you and it would melt my heart.  I am sure to them they didn't even give it a second thought.  Sure I was doing my job but it was just nice for someone to notice I was a human being for just a moment.

This morning I did work for a more mature gentleman.  He thanked me and I continued to go out of my way for him.  For the complainers today I am sticking with our standard time frames, I not going to do them any more favours.

I was raised to always say thank you.  I thank my Dr for taking the time to see me and providing me with knowledge, I thank the receptionist when she puts mail in my tray, I thank the woman behind the register at Coles when she give me my bag and I thank my husband when he hands me a glass of water.

Who have you said Thank You to today?

Perfect Manhattan

On one of our Hunter Valley Weekends, we stumbled upon a bar with a cocktail list bigger than the wine list.  I thought I would venture away from what I was familiar with, and Hubby, well, he had no idea what to order, he chatted to the bartender who convinced him to try a Perfect Manhattan.  We sat and watched as the drink was made and nervously Hubby raised the glass to his mouth and with one sip he was won.  He declared it his favourite cocktail of all time (although truth be told I think he has only ever had 'Bourbon and coke' before this) and we enjoyed a night of cocktail-ing and devouring a plate of tapas listening to old school music and planning which vineyards we would squeeze in the next day.  During the week as I was back in Sydney I found a Deli and saw the maraschino cherries, freshly made, I bought some and knew that for this week I would have to relive our Hunter Valley Weekend, much to my Husband's delight.  Naturally this is our first ever time we have both agreed on 5/5

3 shots Rye Whiskey

1/2 shot Dry Vermouth
1/2 shot Sweet Vermouth

Shake all the ingredients with ice and strain into a cocktail glass, garnish with a maraschino cherry
Note: can substitute Rye Whiskey for Bourbon, but for authenticity I made this drink drink with 100% Rye Whiskey 

Hubby: Perfection, extra smooth, no harsh after taste, pure pleasure, 5/5

Me: Smooth with a clean finish, a perfect balance between sweet and dry, light and heavy, stick with 100% Rye to ensure the perfect balance, 5/5

Perfect for: The changing of the seasons from warm to cool, enjoy at the end of the night with special someone after a long day.

Try it: At home, I know many bartenders who cannot pull this off.

Oops

Dear Blog, 

I didn't mean to disappear for a fortnight, it just kinda happened.  Firstly two weeks ago I had a very busy week with stuff happening after work Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday and then work itself was just a nightmare.  And then this week, well, it was off to Sydney which meant up at 5am after only 4 hours sleep due to tossing and turning all night worrying about not getting up on time and then getting home somewhere around 8-ish?  I don't remember, life has been a blur.  On the plus side though we did get the turf down this weekend, finally and I found a little notebook which I will now scribble out all the blog posts I have had floating around in my head and put them down and remind myself that this year I did promise I was going to be a better blogger.  Which means, even though it is Sunday night I should put Friday's cocktail up, better late than never and there is still a few hours left in this weekend.  

To a much better week starting tomorrow.

xoxo

Cosmopolitan

It's raining, it's pouring

My husband isn't yet snoring

We are in bed watching tv instead

And we will be staying here until the morning

I love the rain.  Love it, in fact I even downloaded a few apps on my phone that plays rain and storms for as long as you want to listen to it.  But this is week 3 now?  And I am a little over bumming around on the couch and rearranging the house (I am also over The Boys bringing dirt into the house from a un-turfed yard but that is a different story).  What is a girl to do with this kind of weather?  She stays in her PJ's all day, brings the TV into the bedroom, sends her Husband out to play computer/xbox/guitar/whatever and sets herself up for some serious girl time.  I have pulled out my Sex and the City DVDs which I have not watched in a long time.  I remember when SATC first came out, I was in school, now, I am about a year off their age in season 1.  It's scary.  And I know I really shouldn't say this, but I will, I am glad I am not single and 30-something.  But then I do live on the Central Coast NSW, Australia.  I think if I was 30-something and single in NYC, it would be a very different story.  Of course tonight I must make the SATC signature cocktail, the Cosmopolitan.

1 1/2 shot Vodka

1 shot Cointreau
1 shot Cranberry Juice
1/2 shot lime juice

Shake all the ingredients with ice and strain into a cocktail glass

Hubby: Finally, a classic cocktail, slightly sweet and very refreshing, 4/5

Me: Strong citrus flavour, very refreshing and easily sip-able the way a cocktail should be, 4/5

Perfect for: Spending an evening in with The Girls and watching soppy rom-coms, also ideal as an apéritif.

Try it: On a night on the town and you want to be assured of a cocktail you know you will enjoy.