The Busy Girl's Guide to a Quality Nap

Step One: Go to the bathroom. Nothing is worse than interrupting a long, autumn's nap with the call of nature.

Step Two: Brush your teeth. I'm serious. By ridding your mouth of any residue of the day you will reduce the likelihood of waking up with kickin' breath.

Step Three: Remove earrings, watches, and rings. We want you to be comfortable in any position you might end up in.

Step Four: If you are wearing skimpy underthings, change into the old, worn-out, backups that you typically save for laundry day. We all know those are the most comfortable anyway.

Step Five: Find something on TV that you have either seen before so you won't get wrapped up in the show, or watch anything with Martha Stewart on it. Her voice will gently rock you to sleep.

Step Six: Make sure a glass of water is by your bed. Not a big glass, just enough to refresh you when you wake up.

Step Seven: Place your cell phone next to that glass of water. This way, if your phone rings you can easily screen or cut of the ringer if you decided to continue your peaceful slumber, rather than stumbling across the room to find the blasted thing.

Step Eight: If you have a big snuggly dog like mine, make sure he is on the bed with you. He aboslutely canNOT be touching you in any way, but he must be on the bed.

Step Nine: Go to the bathroom again, just to make sure.

Step Ten: Roll over on your belly and off you go into napland. I'm telling you, this position will put you to sleep the fastest. I think it's something about getting your belly all warm that makes it so effective. It takes a while to get your arms and legs positioned correctly, but it's completely worth it.

By following these steps, not only do you get a great nap, but it also makes you feel like you've really invested some time in taking care of yourself. Let me know how it works out, or if you have any steps I may have left out due to the rare nature of these quality naps in my life.