One More Gem I Couldn't Delete:

Spiders. (From 11-11-2010)
I realized this morning that they are pretty much running my life.

Don't believe me? Well, let me walk you through what a normal day for Raechel is:

Wake up in the morning, head to the shower. First, check shower (and ceiling) for spiders. Yes, I've had a few bad experiences with spiders and showering - one of which, if I remember correctly, involved a spider that was spinning a web and kept showing up above the shower head in mid air, and then disappearing. I believe I grabbed my towel, and burst out of my bathroom shrieking, "Land of the disappearing spiders!"I think my roommate, Ashlie, thought I had lost it. We had a good laugh about that one. Anywho - back to my daily routine.

When shower is over, grab towel and proceed to shake vigorously - just in case a spider is hiding on your towel somewhere. The LAST thing I want to do is dry my self off with vicious spiders and/or their guts! (Yes, I also had a bad experience with this - which is why I now always shake my towel before use).

Throughout the day, notice little black dots on walls, cars, desks, carpet, etc. and double check to make sure it's not a spider. Often times it's actually a fly, but no matter. Still make sure it's not a spider.

Before bed, lift sheets and check for spiders. Also check under all pillows and on all walls and in ceiling corners. Ain't no sleepin goin down in my room til I'm more certain that spiders aren't lurking around and waiting to attack!

Throughout the night, wake up every time you have an itch and make sure it isn't a spider. This is important because my first night sleeping in my current apartment, I didn't have a boxspring for my mattress yet, so naturally my mattress was on the floor. Early the next morning, I woke up groggily as I gently swiped an itch on my cheek. When my itch proceeded to crawl back up to my cheek less than a second later, I woke quite alarmed as I had just slapped myself in the face to kill the itch (aka spider that was trying to give me a good morning kiss). It was crawling towards my mouth people! MY MOUTH! Needless to say, I didn't have a good night's sleep for a week afterwords.

Wake up, repeat process.

Do you believe me now? This phobia has gotten out of control. The very thing I fear the most is beginning to take over my life. Anyway -  I would have liked to have illustrated this all out for you, but alas, I do not currently have the energy. But, never fear! For I have found someone who can do it better than me:

Funny bit on the monstrosity of spiders

New Rule. Please Take Note.

Ok friends, family, everyone else... we need to talk.

As you may know, I am a very light sleeper. Seriously, the slightest sound or temperature change can wake me up. Most nights I don't get good "rest" because I rarely, if ever, actually get to the "deep sleep" phase of sleep... I honestly believe I spend the majority of my time in REM (and I've got the memories of weird dreams to prove it). I can "sleep" for 8 hours and wake up in the morning wanting to kill my alarm clock because I'm still so tired. In fact, that's me most days.

Recently, I've noticed a new trend in my life where I will be in bed early (like, at or before 10pm), thinking... "this will be blissful, I will get lots of sleep and maybe I'll wake up feeling rested." But then, without fail, right as I'm drifting into what should be a blissful slumber, my phone will go off.

Text Message.

Somebody wants to talk. Or somebody needs my advice. Or somebody had a bad day. At first, I'm okay with it. I answer real quick, put my phone back down, roll over, and get back to falling asleep. But then the phone goes off again. After a few times of this, my tired body starts to get irrationally annoyed and angry. In fact, I start to feel a little bit like this:

 See? Very irrational. And maybe it's slightly exaggerated. But still real to me none-the-less.

What usually ends up happening is 1-2 hours after I was in bed, ready to sleep, I actually get to sleep. And a restless night follows because I had extra things on my mind. Then I wake up grumpy.

So, for my health and the safety of everyone I love, I am making a new rule:

No Texting Raechel After 10pm, MST. 

Or Before 7am, MST.

Unless there is an emergency. 

An emergency meaning that someone is actually in, 

or on their way to, the hospital or worse. 

Otherwise, it can probably wait until tomorrow. 

Please use your common sense and discretion 

when assessing the late night texting/calling situation. 

My body REALLY appreciates it and thanks you in advance.