What Makes For a Lavish -- Or Lamentable -- Lunch?

I usually call my first meal lunch and second dinner. I'm incapable of having a normal sleep schedule so I never know what time of the day I'll go to sleep or wake up. Breakfast is a rarity because I'm usually too tired to eat for a few hours after waking up. For some unknown reason I despise eating while tired.

I would rather eat when tired than go to bed hungry even knowing that means I will be hungry sooner the next day...

And yeah, the sleep schedule is not something I am great at either. Midnight rolls around and I think, gosh, I work tomorrow, I better go to bed, but then I think, what about that panel? And I will work on it for an hour or so. LOL. I don't use an alarm to wake up, either. I know I am going to be awake between six and seven if not sooner, no matter what... if I've stayed up late, the trick then becomes getting out of bed before it is too late rather than thinking, I will just lie here for another couple of minutes. Because more sleep becomes an inevitability under those conditions LOL. I can function fine on a few hours of sleep even though that may mean needing a nap at some point the next day. Naps have become much more commonplace in my life, any ways... One day I got home from work and hit that wall around five o'clock in the evening. Slept until eleven! I still was able to sleep when I went back to bed at one...

I never eat breakfast. When I was a kid my mom would buy the best cereals, but to save money she bought powdered milk. This is the cruelest thing to do to a child. So I just stopped eating breakfast unless she made eggs, or pancakes, or French toast. When she started working, that was pretty much over. So I just got used to not eating until lunch.
I love breakfast foods, though. So we have breakfast for dinner once a week.

I have many memories of powdered milk -- it's all my mom bought until I was at least in high school, and it was on her list as a regular chore for the week.

I can still remember her at the sink, mixing up several bottles...

I just remember that particularly well because when she had some medical challenges (that she thankfully got through,) it was one of the chores I took over.

When I've mentioned being raised on powdered milk before, most people never even knew it existed -- and assumed I must have meant some kind of baby formula.

I've always envied people that can take naps. It's impossible for me to imagine what it's like to choose to sleep and then it happens lol. I'm usually awake a minimum of 20 hours before I'm able to finally fall asleep. I do get lucky some days and am awake for a normal period of time before I'm tired enough to sleep but it's rare. In fact, I'm stuck awake for 30+ hours more often than I am less than 20. I think it's been around 3 months since the last time I was up in the 40+ hour range, but my memory is so bad it might have been less.

We also had powdered milk... as well as milk delivered to our house by
the milk man via a milk box off the back porch adjacent to the kitchen.

I have many memories of powdered milk -- it's all my mom bought until I was at least in high school, and it was on her list as a regular chore for the week.

I can still remember her at the sink, mixing up several bottles...

I just remember that particularly well because when she had some medical challenges (that she thankfully got through,) it was one of the chores I took over.

When I've mentioned being raised on powdered milk before, most people never even knew it existed -- and assumed I must have meant some kind of baby formula.

Did you like the chalk water?
Incidentally, it's the only thing I like less than Spam. Wouldn't that have been an awesome birthday dinner: Spam washed down with a glass of chalk dust flavored water?

You guys have REAL, bonafied milkmen in Canada??!!!

I've only seen pictures!!!

Do they deliver commercialized store milk, or fresh milk from local farms?

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It's interesting hearing my fellow insomniacs share their stories...

I'll have to tuck this subject away for a future thread.

Cold, have you ever heard of a non-24-hour circadian rhythm disorder? I heard about from a woman on YouTube and it made a lot of sense to me -- people whose natural sleep cycles are sometimes much different than most who are the "normal" 24-hour run.

I haven't done as much research on it as I've wanted to but just thought I would mention it.

I really hope you find something that works for you.

I've never heard of that study but it sounds somewhat plausible. Interestingly, the majority of my family that are around my age all have issues with sleep. All of us have more energy at night than during the day and they all have a hard time going to sleep because of it. I'm the only one in the family that got the short end of the stick to where I can be both physically and mentally exhausted but still unable to sleep. I pretty much just lay down when extremely tired and have to wait until I pass out lol. Sometimes that can take up to 8 hours though. Those are the days I really don't enjoy being awake. I tried prescription sleeping pills since I was diagnosed with insomnia but not a single one ever worked. I tried all of the otc sleeping meds I could find and none of those worked either until I finally tried some sort of cold medicine with a side effect of drowsiness. That one worked for a month or two before it just flat out stopped. Oh yeah, I also become immune to the effects of medicines rather quickly so yeah, no sleep meds for me after that one stopped working lol. No pain pills work for me either so that's a thing.

I'm thinking of starting a thread about insomnia so maybe I'll post more there -- I can relate, and went through a cycle of trying to find medications to help.

You might want to try looking up some information on a non-24-hour sleep cycle. I'm not sure what the primary forms of treatment are but it was interesting listening to people on YouTube journal their sleeping patterns, and finding out they had, for example, more of a 36-hour circadian rhythm or more.

I know it's a real detriment for people whose natural sleep-wake cycles are opposite the rest of the world (like being expected to work 9-5 when the person's best hours are after midnight, etc.)

If you have some time, you might want to try looking up some YouTubers who might have tips on what's worked for them.

I guess since it was all I knew, it's what I came to think milk was, you know?

When you don't experience anything else, you just assume, it is what it is.

Once my Mom decided we could afford real milk, it was always the lowest fat variety possible, as I grew up in the anti-fat-in-your-food era.

I know my Dad hated, as you say, "chalk water" but it's what they could afford at the time. Dad was pretty happy when we graduated to "pre-made" milk, lol.

And when I first tasted 2%, and heaven forbid, WHOLE milk, and then even later, whipping cream -- I truly felt as if I was sinning!

Ironically, these days I still buy powdered milk -- to use in my coffee. I just dump it in while still in powder form -- it's more convenient for me than regular milk, as I use almond milk for regular drinking -- and I try to tell myself it's a healthier alternative to other powdered creamers.

I get that parents make decisions that are for the greater good. I have to make such decisions myself as a parent. Unlimited wants versus limited resources. And my siblings obviously had no taste buds. So I lobbied for Poptarts.

Doing it wrong makes it bad. Sliced cheese on raw meat for a cheeseburger is the wrong way to do it.


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No, the microwave at work.

I never eat breakfast. When I was a kid my mom would buy the best cereals, but to save money she bought powdered milk. This is the cruelest thing to do to a child. So I just stopped eating breakfast unless she made eggs, or pancakes, or French toast. When she started working, that was pretty much over. So I just got used to not eating until lunch.
I love breakfast foods, though. So we have breakfast for dinner once a week.

Doing it wrong makes it bad. Sliced cheese on raw meat for a cheeseburger is the wrong way to do it.


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