To sleep, perchance to dream …

I have not been sleeping well lately.

Actually, that's not true. I sleep well when I sleep, but once I wake up, I'm UP. As in wide awake, ready to go, bouncing off the walls UP.

For the past several days, UP time has been between 2:30 and 4:30 a.m. I realize that for both of you, 2:30 and 4:30 come once a day, when it's light outside. You might be having a mid-afternoon snack then, or you might be at work.

The other 2:30 and 4:30 come when it's pitch-black outside. Frost develops in the pre-dawn hours, preparing to wreak its havoc on strawberry blossoms and baby apples. There's not much traffic on our road, or anywhere else around here for that matter. Should the sheriff drive by, he might wonder if all is well, seeing my kitchen light on at such an unseemly hour.

Bedtime is early, usually by 9 p.m., so I'm not technically sleep-deprived, more like underslept. Five or six hours, and sometimes seven, is certainly enough to get by on, but getting UP so early-early-early takes its toll after more than a couple of days.

My energy level drops dramatically around 4 p.m. – just in time to start dinner. I feel fuzzy, almost like I have a hangover, with the blackout but without all the fun. Not a good feeling. I have trouble concentrating and I'm not a good listener around that time. Just ask my oh-so-patient husband.

To somewhat prepare for not ever wanting to make dinner again, yesterday I cooked 10 pounds of chicken quarters. Some went into the crockpot for chicken noodle soup (which we ate last night and will have again tonight). The rest is in the refrigerator, ready to skin and bone this morning and put into the freezer in meal-sized packages. I also cooked and froze three pounds of ground beef with some chopped onions.

Hey, it's a start. As long as I have pasta, pizza dough, tortillas, cheese and the usual vegetables – celery, carrots, onions, peppers – I can make something that passes for dinner which will still be healthful and home-cooked.

Because shortcuts are allowed when you've underslept. Right?

I know some of you have written about your own sleep issues. How do you get back on track? I'll be staying UP later tonight, as I'm going to see The Hunger Games. It begins at 7, ends 142 minutes later and it takes another 25 minutes to drive home. I should be collapsing into bed around 10 p.m. Maybe that shift in schedule will be enough to get me back on track.

Until the next time. I'm open to other suggestions. (Can you believe it? I'm actually asking for advice!)