Wow. Forty people in that teeny space? I'm glad the fire marshall wasn't in the neighborhood during the tour. :o) George, you are an Energizer Bunny! You have most certainly earned a day off. I'm sure you have some ideas on how to goof off today. But if you need some suggestions you could do what I do: coffee in bed, a few reruns of "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills," (which I'm sure isn't part of your regular routine!), maybe some outlet mall shopping. Or maybe you could just stay home with Leone and the cat. :o) Enjoy your well-deserved day off. Karen

My sleep has VERY much improved since my last response on Feb 3. I still wake up but now only once on most nights, and I go right back to sleep. Usually the reason I wake up now is a full bladder, but now I'm so sleepy when I wake up that I just roll over instead of get up to go to the bathroom (the problem with that is that I will just continue waking up as my bladder gets fuller and fuller, but the good thing is that it means I'm sleeping sounder and not waking up for no reason all night). I believe the improvement is due to the sensible lifestyle changes I made: regular, daily exercise; eating healthy balanced diet and less sugar; and calcium / vitamin supplements. Prior to that, I had already increased my water intake (to about 64 ounces a day) and stopped eating within 3 hours of bedtime. Even if you don't believe (or do believe) everything Dr. Lee says, one thing he states that is right on is that if we aren't eating right, exercising, etc. then no cream or pill is going to fix us. And any good doctor should tell us that right up front even if he/she is a strong supporter of a particular medication or cream. It took a few months to notice the changes. And my sleep is still not the good heavy, all-night sleep I used to enjoy until I hit my 40's, but it's normal to sleep lighter as we get older. Try making simple lifestyle changes (if you haven't already), one at a time. Just make one change for a full month before trying another one.

I had the same problem. My sleep disorder is getting much better with the help of organic progesterone cream, 10 to 15 to 20mg daily of pregnenolone under my tongue in the mornings, Lady's Mantle and oat straw herbal tea (brewed from organic dried herbs). At bedtime, I take 3mg instant dissolve melatonin. If i get up in the middle of the night, i take another 3mg to help falling back to sleep. It takes awhile to let pregnenolone break into your system, in the beginning you might want to take it early in the day to avoid being excited and restless in bed. Progesterone and Lady's mantle herbal tea will help decreasing your night sweats; pregnenolone and progesterone will get you out of depression and anxiety; Oatstraw can reduce blood pressure and has a calming effect. I also pray before bed time to leave my worries to God. I aviod coffee in any type. By the way, i know that Mexican wild yam root (about 800mg daily) is also a good herb for reducing high blood pressure. It has diosgenin, a good stuff to balance your hormone too. All above information can be found online. Please do some search on them. Best luck to you.

DRUNKEN BLONDIES (Ezra Pound Cake) Adapted from "The Back in the Day Bakery Cookbook" 1/2 cup sweetened flaked coconut 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt 1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted 2 cups packed light brown sugar 2 large eggs, at room temperature 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract 2 tablespoons bourbon 1/4 cup chopped pecans 1/2 cup chocolate chips, milk or semisweet To Toast the Coconut: Spread the coconut in a baking pan, and bake for 7 to 10 minutes in the oven at 350 degrees F. Toss every couple of minutes to make sure it doesn�t get too brown. Set aside. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9 x 13-inch baking pan, and line with parchment, letting the ends of the paper hang over two opposite edges of the pan. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside. Place the melted butter and brown sugar in a bowl, and stir until smooth. Stir in the eggs, vanilla and bourbon. Stir in flour mixture, adding it a 1/2 cup at a time. Stir in the pecans, coconut, and chocolate chips. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan, and smooth the top with a spatula. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the top is golden brown. Cool the pan on a wire rack. When the pan is completely cool, use the parchment paper to pull the blondies out of the pan. Cut them into bars. Makes 24 small or 12 large.