Tag Archives: sleep

Well, 62 was a good number.

21 Saturday Jan 2023

Posted by in Arts & Crafts, sticker making

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I’m not calling it failure because I didn’t put a number on it. I’m really just amazed I lasted as long as I did, even with a little cheating. But last night, after working on several different things, I forgot and went to sleep.

Here’s a list of things I did tonight.

  • Created a store front for sticker sales.
    • There are two stickers by myself and two by The Kid.
  • Made my Cricut work
    • When I tried to use it to cut stickers the other day, it messed up. I used some tips from TT comments to figure it out. I had to turn off my lights to do it.
  • Figured out how to keep Cricut Design Space from adding a bold black line to my images.
    • It has to do with transparency. Now I just gotta figure out how to fix the stickers I’ve already designed.
  • Completed The Kid’s stickers.
    • The only thing I did was create a white background with a distinct and clear border for CDS and the Cricut to cut.
  • Published the storefront and sold two stickers!
    • They were the kid’s but still. She earned $4.
  • Learned how to and made a stamp/brush in Procreate to easily add “The Kid ‘23” to her images.
    • At some point I’ll get her to help.
  • Printed two of each of The Kid’s stickers, and one of mine, just so I didn’t waste paper.
    • I then used the Cricut to cut said stickers. While they were cutting I got two separate notifications that two of hers sold.
    • We packaged those up in a sweet envelope, after she wrote a little message of course, and they’ll be hand delivered tomorrow. Ah, the glory of knowing your customers personally.

I have some to make for my nephew, he only gave me guidance on one, requested an edit on another, and liked one more but didn’t say if he wanted it. It’s not ready anyway.

I’m sure this will be yet another failed side hustle did me, but it’s fun. And if I don’t print something every day my stupid printer acts a fool.

I’m not planning on beating my streak for a while. Gonna post as they come. But I’ve got a few in the pipeline. Another page of Cora’s story. A review of some Oats Overnight flavors, and some Spite Diet updates.

Anyway here’s Wonderwall some stickers.

Language? Not complete.
Sleep is beautiful.
Mo the Cat. First sticker sale. Available
Original. Need to change the font. Available
Pink for some reason
First sticker. Still love it. Available
Background Not Included. Available
Mr. Beast. Background not included. Available
Stickers. Some WIP. Some Available.
My Bob I’m tired.
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Crystal’s Weird Dreams: Part 9,768

25 Friday Mar 2022

Posted by in Dreams, Non-Fiction

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First

I dreamed that my truck had a message pop up saying my breaks had reached max temperature and needed repairs because they got too hot.

I know why I dreamed that: practically since the day I got my used Dodge Ram, there’s been things wrong with it. First the washer fluid motor didn’t work. Then the second day (I think) the check engine light came on. I bough a reader do dad and it said there was a vapor emissions leak (or something).

In October it had a spell where it didn’t want to start. That ended up beating a battery connector. that’s a whole other blog post which I thought I wrote but cannot find now.

Now there’s a bad fuel injector (thanks always on check engine light). I’m pretty sure it’s been in an accident before. The hood isn’t mounted right, as it rubs the fender when you open it.

I fixed the washer fluid issue myself, it was a bad fuse. The batter connector was replaced the night it messed up. I’m about to order (literally in a few hours) the parts to fix the other two.

So I dreamed about SOMETHING ELSE going wrong, something nonexistent, because there’s already other things wrong that I need to fix.

Second.

I dreamed (after I was woken up at 4am by a devil cramp in my foot & calf muscle) that I was in my dad’s living room but in my house, and my electric heated throw started to spark where the cord plugs into the throw. One of my direct supervisors was there telling me I didn’t plug it in right. All while the throw caught on fire. While it was on me.

I managed to get it unplugged and yeeted it out my front door.

I think I dreamed it because: one, I constantly feel like, at work I’m not doing anything right or fast enough. I was just told yesterday by both direct supervisors that I was doing a thing completely wrong for over a year.

The throw catching on fire? Probably because I go to sleep cold so I have my throw on. But then I wake up an hour later roasting. As if not only did my throw warm me up but the whole room decided that it wanted to be warmer.

Melatonin has always contributed to my wild dreams, luckily there rarely bad, upsetting, or difficult.

Thanks for reading

-c

I never realized how important melatonin has become in getting my child to sleep

29 Saturday Jan 2022

Posted by in Non-Fiction, Opinion Piece

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Until we ran out of her melatonin and I forgot to get more

Crap

So why don’t we learn about melatonin together while we wait for her to fall asleep naturally.

Hey Crystal! Why DO you give you’re Under 10 child Melatonin?

My child has ADHD. Through months of stress and frustration that I won’t go into we decided to see a doctor and she was diagnosed. At some point there will be a detailed post but this ain’t it.

When we put her on medicine for it, we were told that it could cause sleep issues. She’s had them for some time but we’d never seriously considered melatonin or anything of that sort.

We started giving her a 1mg melatonin gummy every night at the beginning of our bedtime routine. At this stage, we have other steps and there’s plenty of time for it to kick in. By the time our routine is complete, sometimes before, she’s out.

She took her last one last night, and I knew very quickly I would regret not picking another container up. So I’m writing this post while I wait impatiently for her to doze off.

Okay that was the back story. What is Melatonin anyway?

According to Wikipedia (that all-knowing website we all use but never donate to) Melatonin is a hormone naturally released at night by the pineal glad (no. The PI-NEE-AL gland, get your mind out the gutter[I will neither confirm nor deny whether I had to Google the pronunciation]). It is known to help regulate the sleep and wake cycle.

I also read a handful of times that it is released by your body when triggered by darkness. Perhaps that’s why it tells you to turn out the lights and put down the screens?

Basically meaning when the release of melatonin is triggered it helps promote a restful and relaxed state so you can fall asleep.

I personally have been using it a few years now. I take a chewable 10mg before I lay down, so I fall asleep easier the night before a workday. I do fall asleep faster.

I also have way weirder dreams.

“Evidence for its benefit for this use, however, is not strong.”

Wikipedia (UH EXCUSE YOU.)

Cool cool. So it’s made by the brain. But wait HOW DO THEY MAKE THE SUPPLEMENT

I’m so glad you asked!

Mm yes you’ll like this

Melatonin supplements can be found in natural and synthetic forms. The synthetic form is created completely in a pharmaceutical lab and is molecularly identical to what your own body produces.

But the natural melatonin supplements are made from the pineal gland of animals. Oh yes. They extract the melatonin from brains of animals.

HORRIFYING. However…

Throughout the last, oh, ten minutes of googling, I tried to search for “natural melatonin supplements”. Most every result only mentioned increasing your melatonin production naturally. So I am assuming that most of not all melatonin supplements on the market today are in fact synthetic.

I have my child’s empty container of melatonin before me. I’m going to email the manufacturer, just to see if they’ll respond, and ask them how this particular melatonin is made. This post will be updated in the text box below if they respond.

Thank the LORT she’s finally asleep.

It only took, like, an hour. She’s honestly been asleep for like fifteen minutes I was just so wrapped up in this post that haven’t stopped.

Yes, I wrote this post to soothe my mind while my child soothed herself without being dosed extra melatonin that her body did not produce. Come to think of it if she weren’t scared of the dark she might sleep easier.

Anyway, my very limited research skills have provided me with some entertainment. And my day job influenced me to Google how Melatonin supplements were made months ago. So I already knew that part.

Also the number of people who firmly believe the use of vitamins and supplements will cure them or keep them from getting sick at all is absolutely terrifying and depressing. The human race’s reliance on supplements might be getting out of hand, especially due to the current state of affairs *cough* pandemic *cough*.

Yes. They are useful and helpful and some people truly need some of these. And I advocate and encourage the use of a daily multivitamin (equate women’s daily for YEARS) for most everyone I talk to. But there are an alarming number of supplements sold in stores that are NOT regulated or tested by the FDA. Always keep that in mind.

And with this I’ll leave you!

Thanks for reading!

-c

“Can you tell me where the melanoma is?”

That one customer like 7 or 8 years ago. Pretty sure she was looking for melatonin.