And Then There Was Light

Shortly after I wrote my "wordless" post yesterday, we had a huge windstorm. It was loud--I knew it was supposed to be windy, but I didn't expect it to be so windy that our electricity would go out! It was only about 7:00 PM, but it was dark outside. And for some reason, the moon just wasn't giving us any moonlight, so it was pitch black inside the house.

I waited expectantly for the power to come back on, like it usually does, but after a few minutes I wondered if it was going to be out for a while. I felt my way into the living room for a flashlight, then used that to find my phone (I never know where my phone is). I had about 40% battery left on my phone, so I didn't want to mess around by playing a game or something and drain the battery.

I was SO glad I had already done my second workout (I finished it--just a walk--about 30 minutes before the windstorm). If I hadn't already done it, I'd had to have walked in the windstorm or, I don't know, marched in place in the dark living room? One of my workouts has to be outside, so if I had done an indoor workout in the morning, planning to do the treadmill or something in the evening, I would have been totally out of luck. I chose to run yesterday morning, and I did that outside. (I'll recap my workouts tomorrow).

I remembered that I could read my Kindle in the dark if I turned on the backlight; the Kindle battery lasts forever, so I figured I'd just read in bed for a while. I started a book called 'The Quarry Girls' by Jess Lourey, a murder-mystery inspired by a true crime, that I got for free via Amazon's First Reads. I really like it! I'm only about a quarter of the way into it, but I'm going to read some more tonight.

I read for a couple of hours (still no electricity) and decided it was probably a good time to try to go to sleep early. One of my goals with 75 Hard is to get into a good routine so that I can hopefully sleep better. I fell asleep on and off for a few hours, and then at 1:00, I just couldn't do it anymore. I got up and read my book again, ate some pretzels (*sigh*), and kept checking the electric company's app to watch for an update.

Duck joined me--he draped himself across my chest, which made it hard to read, but he was so cozy and warm that I actually started getting tired again.

I fell asleep again for a little while, but was wide awake at 4:00. Why does my body not let me sleep?! I have had insomnia problems since I was a kid, and I've tried all of the tips for getting a good night's sleep, but my brain just has such a hard time turning off. Melatonin and over-the-counter sleep aids do nothing for me. On the rare occasion that I get four hours of uninterrupted sleep, that's a *great* night for me. But usually it's tossing and turning with an hour here and an hour there. So frustrating.

Anyway, it's kind of pathetic how much I rely on electricity. It's funny how even when the power is out, I flip light switches from room to room out of habit.

Murphy's law when the electricity goes out:

Naturally, the portable chargers for USB things (like charging phones) aren't charged. The battery in our super-powerful flashlight has about 10% battery remaining. And of course, I always have a load of dishes going or a load of laundry in the washer when the power goes out. I'm surprised I didn't have dinner in the crockpot, too!

Oh, and let's add in Daylight Saving Time--we had to set the clocks back an hour at 2:00 this morning.

In the morning, Jerry texted me to say that they were estimating the power to come back on at 11:00 PM tonight (Sunday)! I was bummed it was going to take so long. One of the big benefits to being vegan now, though, is that I didn't have to worry about meat spoiling; the majority of our fridge contains vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, condiments, soy milk, and leftovers from dinner. (And tofu... there is always a block or two of tofu waiting to be cooked into something yummy.)

My day today was all screwed up. It didn't *have* to be, but I was totally out of my element without electricity! And the "extra" hour when we set the clocks back messed with my brain, too. I went in the living room to read and when Jerry got home, we used "the" flashlight (it's a stupid thing to get excited over, but I seriously LOVE this flashlight--it's super bright) to sit and talk for a little bit.

I noticed Duck and Joey's shadows on the wall; and if you look closely, Chick noticed the shadows, too! (He's in front of the TV lying on his nail scratcher, staring up at Duck's shadow).

I went to Lowe's super early to get some stuff I needed to work on the bathroom. I figured that if it was light enough outside, I could at least get some stuff done in the bathroom today.

I bought primer, but I have NO idea what color to paint the walls. I want to do something different--we might as well, since we have to repaint the whole bedroom and bathroom anyway--but I'm having such a hard time deciding what colors I want to use. Jerry wants to do something really dark, and I like that idea (which I realize is ironic, considering the electricity situation). I've looked at some cool color schemes but I just don't think they'd work in our bedroom.

I worked in the bathroom for a couple of hours and then I heard the sound of the furnace kicking on. The electricity was back! I think it was about noon. We were only out of electricity for about 17 hours, but it's crazy how much that affects our daily routine and tasks:

Eli had drained his phone battery last night (of course) and he couldn't stand not having it, so he went to my parents' house really early this morning. Noah was excited to have friends come over last night to play the Xbox in the "man cave" in the garage; but his friends showed up right before the power went out. Still, they ended up ordering food and hanging out anyway. Jerry had electricity at work, but he also had a 13-hour shift, thanks to setting the clocks back!

Now I'm going to do my reading for 75 Hard, as well as take my daily progress photo; I usually do those things in the morning. I feel like I'm forgetting something else, too. Basically, I just need to complete my checklist for the day. And hopefully get some actual sleep tonight!