the most awesome part of waking up

When I am at my writing best, which -- let's face it -- hasn't been lately, it often comes at a price. During those times, not only do I sacrifice what meager social life I have (the kittens keep me on a tight leash), but I also give up sleeping.

I know, I know, I'm gorgeous enough not to worry about losing beauty sleep, but it's still tough.

It's especially harder when trimming the sleep comes early in the day rather than late at night. You know what I'm talking about -- being up on the wrong side of 5 a.m. When a story calls and you have to ride the creative wave, though, it's worth it, but it adds up.

Now that I'm back in the saddle and conditioning for NaNoWriMo by fixing my first POS manuscript, it also means I'm back to getting up insanely early every day to do a little extra writing before I got to the j-o-b.

But what can you do to make being an early bird (especially when you also are a night owl) a little less painful?

I say have fun and start your day off right. No, I'm not talking about adding chocolate to your morning coffee -- though I do buy flavored coffee to give me that extra little excitement in the morning -- but I mean making your day good the moment you wake up.

But how do you do that, Laura?

Well, friends, I'm glad you asked. Because I am a completely ridiculous person with a silly sense of humor, I find setting personal messages on my cell phone alarm works. Not only does reading something funny -- or because it's me more likely nerdy -- catch my attention, but it makes me laugh first thing in the morning.

Laughing first thing in the morning serves two purposes. One: It jolts me awake. Have you tried to fall back to sleep after having a fit of laughter? It's not easy. Two: It puts me in a good mood. Even if I don't plan to write in the morning, having that extra bit of humor gets the day started on a positive note.

I started doing this about six months ago, and I've built up my line-up. Some only make their appearance once and others are part of a carefully cultivated permanent collection. I took screen shots of my phone yesterday so you see my current wake-up message line-up.

The only thing I find embarrassing about
this wake-up message is the fact that it is
actually my 5:45 alarm. I hit snooze the
first time it went off. As for the content: so
what? Bingley is a gentleman among cats
and he and his sister are picky eaters.
Using this as motivation makes me a
responsible pet owner, not crazy. Why
don't I mention Jane in this wake-up?
Because she's mean, and I want to wake
happy, not disgruntled.

Everyone knows I love "Parks and Rec,"
I mean EVERYONE. After re-watching
the Christmas episode last spring, I was
again struck by the awesomeness that is
the character of Donna and the even
greater awesomeness that is the blinged
out personalized robe Leslie gave her.
On the back it said, "You can get it,"
and I thought, "Why, yes you can get
it, Laura," and so I do.

This one isn't so much to make me laugh
as it is to make me feel content. The only
thing greater than waking up to Gosling
encouragement is waking up to the
sounds of Robbie Williams' voice.
Unfortunately, I was actually already
awake and listening to this song, so
it wasn't a wake up call as much as
early morning company.

Do I even need to explain this? If you
don't get it, then you obviously aren't
a courageous reader, who is willing to
blush and giggle for hours at a time to
read one of the most talked about books
of 2012. Obviously.

God, I get emotional just thinking about
everything poor Britney Spears went
through during her kray kray years. But
you know what? She made it out on the
other side to become an over-paid judge
on a TV show. Motivation at its best.
It's also my original alarm name. I confess
I saw it on Pinterest last spring, and
realized I needed it for my own.

OK, 7 a.m. is just about the latest I can
get out of bed and still have time to make
coffee, wash my face and throw on
clothes to make it to work on time.
If this one goes off , and I'm still in bed,
then I'm in need of more than just a
verbal ass-kicking. In all seriousness,
this is probably my favorite. It's also my
most viewed. Usually I'm already up and
moving, but I believe in having back-ups.

Do any of you have personalized wake-up calls? What are they? If not, what would be the best message to get you up and going in the morning?

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