Sometimes, you just have to eat cake in the middle of the night!

Periodically, I suffer from insomnia. I have tried several remedies over the years to help me fall asleep: sleeping pills (did not work), herbal teas, natural melatonin, wine (copious amounts), meditation, and the oldest trick in the book- counting sheep. No seriously, I count sheep. Although, I only get to about 10 sheep before a barrage of thoughts make me lose count...at 10!

Rob and I recently took a trip back to the midwest to surpise his parents for their 60th birthdays. They live out in the suburbs, where things are peaceful and quiet...exactly the wrong combination for this city girl to get her beauty sleep. I found myself up at 1am, after tossing and turning for almost 2 hours, with no sleep in sight. As I lay in bed next to my snoring husband (definitely not a remedy for sleeplessness!), I started making a list of all the things I am thankful for. I assumed that making a mental list of all the positives in my life would help settle my mind and put me to sleep. It did not. Instead, I kept thinking about how thankful I was for the delicious chocolate birthday cake that was sitting in the kitchen directly below me.

As I sat at the kitchen table at 1:16am eating my slice of cake, I thought to myself "life is pretty good...even without sleep!". Then I realized that the cake was trying to send me a message (no, not the weird extraterrestrial kind of message). I looked up from my empty plate to see that the remaining piece of cake said "Happy". It was what was left of the "Happy 60th Birthday" message we had inscribed on the cake. This one word, along with the cake in my belly, made me smile, and put me back on track to making my list of things that I am thankful for:

• a husband who offers to sleep on the couch when he snores
• a dog who is always ecstatic to see me, whether I have been gone for one minute or a whole weekend
• a healthy family
• an opportunity to see some of the good that people do everyday through my volunteer work
• clean sheets
• an e-mail from the public library alerting me that a book I've been waiting for is ready for pick up
• renters in our apartment in Chicago
• a beautiful, real Christmas Tree lit up against a backdrop of palm trees
• my own strength (or stupidity!) and support from friends, family, and most importantly, Rob, to leave a job that was making me unhappy
• the freedom of time to determine what my next step is
• warm chocolate chip cookies fresh out of the oven
• the Holiday Music Channel on TV (if you have not heard "Dominick the Donkey" Christmas song, you have got to check it out!)
• a rainbow on a rainy December afternoon in San Diego 
• surfing on Christmas Day 
• the sleep that will eventually come (I just know it!)
• and finally, a slice of cake that reminds us all to be "Happy"

Of course, this is not an exhaustive list, but it's a start. What are you thankful for this holiday season?

A little slice of "Happy" heaven