Newbies Nest

[wagmor]

Re: Newbies Nest

Thanks to everyone for your condolences. My uncle was a very kind man who adored his wife and daughters. We are all grateful he didn't suffer, but losing a loved one is never easy.

Pav - glad you had such a great time away

NS - how is your pupper doing these days? Still full of energy!

Kensho - hope your transition back to work and life after vacation is smooth and easy

Belle - if you figure out the cloning thing please let me know!


Things are mostly good here. My 5-year sober-versary is this Saturday and I think we're going to have a special dinner to celebrate. Nothing expensive or fancy, just Mexican food take-out which is my fave. Yum! I'm so grateful my wife has been supportive of my quit. We met while I was still drinking, and in fact our first date was drinks and dinner. If I'm being honest, we probably would never have met if I hadn't been drinking for a year or two. Dating takes a lot of courage and I was using al to provide some of it. Or maybe that was just one of my excuses for drinking. I guess we'll never fully know, but I'm so glad that chapter is closed and behind me.

Onward, forward, and upward!

[available]

Re: Newbies Nest

Evening nesters

Wags, im sorry to hear of another loss in your family, never easy for anyone but its a blessing to know he is at peace. your 5th sober birthday is always worth celebrating, i hope you have a lovely meal.

Belle, i admire your determination to not drink this time. its amazing all the things we can achieve sober. I just love being there for my kids any time of the day or night and actually being sensible with advice, well i think its sensible. I have had all of my kids thank me for being there for them always and thats a nice squishy feeling. they could not say that when i was a drunk.

Oh NS, i always found it such a joy to be able to drink openly when no one was around instead of hiding it. Yes i didnt deserve anything when i drank, i was forever trying to give to others to appease my guilt of drinking and it was a vicious cycle. now i give as i want to, not because i feel i have to.

Surgery to go ahead on Friday, i received my sms reminder for midday. i am so looking forward to getting it over and done with but now not looking forward to the after affects of the GA. i hated that feeling of having no control over myself and a BIG reminder of my drinking days and maybe thats what i dont like.

Lav, i am the healthiest i have ever been and seem to be on more stuff but mainly for menopause now. apparently only 8 1/2 years to go and i may feel better ha ha.

Kensho, i am so jealous of 10 hours sleep, i dont think i have had that much sleep in a long time (cept after my GA). 5 hours is about my max though i do enjoy a good hour nap, probably counterproductive really.

Thinking of you Steady and sending my love.

take care xx

[KENSHO]

Re: Newbies Nest

NS, I completely agree with you regarding not taking power when drinking. I also did not feel I deserved it when drinking. I was lying and sneaking after all - putting my addiction first. Once I quit, I was forced to claim my power in order to remain quit, as my husband would have preferred that I stay his drinking buddy. I got strong because I had very little support at home. Thank goodness for you all!!

Ava, I don't like GA either. It helps me to remember how many people do it every day and are just fine.

5 years Wags! WOW! Wonderful, and I'm so happy your wife will celebrate with you. THERE's support!!

Congrats on the fixed washer Belle! Not a fun expense, but a great tool to help life be easier. I missed a washer when camping for 10 days!!

We have smoke in the air, but it's high and we don't smell it. We do, however, have a small plane that sprays the crop fields around us with God knows what, and I'm sure that is dangerous to breathe. I stayed inside for 24 hours with windows shut. Humans just aren't learning that we can only trash the planet for so long. I am a proactive type of person - solve the problem at the source, but too many people just don't want to leave their comfort zone of doing what they've always done. SO sad to me. We can solve these problems if we try.

Anyway, sorry for the downer. Much to be thankful here in my house. Swim meet with the kids last night, and I had one of those mornings where the sheets and room were the exact right temperature, exact softness, complete comfort - and I got to sleep in to 7:30 with husband, as he works from home. It was divine. Love those mornings. I used to be hungover and never experienced them - not missing out now!

Have a good day Nest!

[Pavati]

Re: Newbies Nest

Hi, All:

Belle, that suite sounds amazing. My husband snores also (as do I), and he is a SOUND sleeper while I wake up easily. We got a king sized memory foam mattress a while ago, and it really helped - no one can feel anyone toss and turn. Nevertheless, sleeping alone sounds wonderful to me. Sorry he's not being nice.

Kensho - 10 hours a night while camping? That's pretty amazing. Work does sort of get in the way of having enough sleep. I need to get myself to sleep earlier but it is hard for me. Not sure if anyone here watches basketball, but it was a good game last night!

Wags, I agree with the dating. It would be hard for me to have conceived of it sober, but now that I have so long I think I could be able to do it.

I'm off. Three more days and then I'm off for a full week. Looking forward to a couple of close to home jaunts and then some downtime at home.

Happy SOBER Hump Day!
Pav

[Lavande]

Re: Newbies Nest

Greetings Nesters,

Crazy day of heat & storms but the temp has dropped nearly 20 degrees so that’s good
Catching up on some promised embroidery jobs in the meantime.

Wags, thinking of you & your family :hug:
Your 5 year anniversary will feel awfully good as it should.

Ava, I don’t know if we ever feel completely better after the big change. We seem to come out different, at least that’s been my experience.
Keeping my fingers crossed for you Friday. Hope everything goes well for you. You will be happy once it’s all done

Kensho, today’s rain was supposed to chase out all the smokey air we’ve had all week from the western fires. We could actually smell it all the way over here!!
Glad you’re enjoying some good sleep.

Pav, I hope you enjoy your time off, sounds nice

Hello to all & wishing a safe night in the nest for all.

Lav

[wagmor]

Re: Newbies Nest

Kensho - the plane spraying stuff down is scary. Is it for fire-fighting or do you know? I'm with you -- I'm horrified and saddened that we as a species don't seem capable of caring enough to change our behaviors in ways that will significantly help our poor planet.

Pav - I think I'd be able to date sober now too, not that I'm thinking about it! But at the time it sure seemed impossible. I think it's easy for a drinker to come up with "reasons" to drink (excuses really) and that's probably part of what I was doing.

Lav - that's amazing that you can smell the smoke all the way out there.

Ava - I hope that all goes smoothly and easily for you with surgery on Friday. We will all be thinking of you and pulling for you.


Happy hump day/night to everyone!

[Slo]

Re: Newbies Nest

Just a brief one tonight. I’m up by daughter’s to help with the babies, and have to hit the ground running in the early am when Beckett wakes up.

Pav, I watched the basketball game -because it was the home team who won!!!

That’s icky about the crops being aero-sprayed with chemicals so close to you, Kensho.
We had the smoke-filled air yesterday too.

Too tired to continue. Night-night.

[Pavati]

Re: Newbies Nest

Hi, All:

Ah yes, the "reasons I drink that make me so unique..." I remember telling my friend that I realized I had anxiety socially and that was why I drank and he said, "don't we all?" Gulp. For a reason of fate or genetics I was vulnerable to alcohol full stop. I am not unique in any of it - quite humbling to get the ego out of the way and get to the business of staying sober.

Stories of long-term sober people drinking are what keep me coming back. Of course, I love all of your company, but I'm not messing with the formula that got me sober and keeps me sober so far. Community with other sober people is key to that as far as I can tell, and this nest is a good place to come to be reminded of where we could be if we decided to drink.

Lav, that's amazing that you can smell the smoke from there. The climate disasters ought to be enough to make reducing emissions an emergency situation but unfortunately it is not.

Slo, congratulations on your Bucks. I was rooting for them - I love Jrue Holiday and of course Giannis. What a fun team you have.

Hi to everyone else. Happy SOBER Thursday,
Pav

[Lavande]

Re: Newbies Nest

Good evening Nesters,

We truly do have clear air today after the rain, grateful. I can’t imagine living with that smoke filled air for long periods of time, can’t be healthy. Now we need to figure out how to pull our politicians heads out of their a$$es & get something done about this climate mess. We are nearing critical stage - what are they waiting for?? At least we’re back in the Paris Climate Agreement with the rest of the thinking world.
I just refilled the hummingbird feeders on my deck & they’re here already. we understand each other I think, Lol

Pav, I agree 100% that having the privilege of an understanding community is good for our souls & keeps us humble. Why mess things up now, right?

Sllo, hope you enjoyed your day with your grandbabies

Wags, I couldn’t believe the smoke came all this way either but it sure did. Then I remembered we also got volcanic ash when Mount Saint Helens erupted, crazy.

Ava, good luck with your surgery. We are all keeping our fingers crossed for an excellent outcome for you :hug:

Hello to all & wishing a safe night in the nest for all!

Lav

[available]

Re: Newbies Nest

Evening nesters

i can feel i am going to be in a world of pain when the needles wear off. it went really well and i came out of the GA so much better this time, they adjusted whatever and other than tired, i feel in complete control. had different people doing the anaesthesia this time. i was more anxious about that than the surgery. now to wait three months before i can get the teeth to fill the gaps but at least i will be smiling by xmas. going to get my teeth whitened in a few weeks, may as well go the whole hog.

still getting covid cases so am so happy i have now had my final operation.

xx

[Slo]

Re: Newbies Nest

Thanks for the update on your surgery, Ava, and glad the scary GA was better this time.

Pav, Giannis really played well when it counted! He’s amazing. HB was yelling at Holiday quite a bit, but I could see some good plays that he made. I’m actually not much into sports, but that was fun to watch. Can’t imagine standing in a crowd of 50,000 people outside the stadium watching the game on TV screens like so many did -but that’s just me I guess. Not much for crowds.

Wags, do you mean that you met your wife in between your long AF stints? I met my spouse in a bar too. Booze is very much intertwined with dating.

My 3-year sober-versary date was yesterday! It is much easier now, and a way of life for me. I simply don’t drink!

Being with the grandbabies was fine and fulfilling. I love snuggling a two-month-old! It’s an almost 2-hour drive to get there, but I want to be able help daughter regularly through this, as they’re rather close in age.

Wishing a peaceful day to all!

[Pavati]

Re: Newbies Nest

Hi, All:

Yes, Slo, that crowd made me crazy. Doctors said they were expecting a surge in Covid cases because of it...SMH. CONGRATULATIONS on three sober years. Wahoo!

Glad you got rain, Lav. Living with smoke is relentless. My decompression and mental health salve is being outdoors and getting exercise. When it is smoky, which causes anxiety anyway, I don't have that release and it is a double whammy. Plus I worry about everyone and the environment. The fact that these are in July is disconcerting - usually fire season is September/October.

Ava, glad it went well, and glad you spoke up about the GA. I wonder what they changed. How many holes do you have in your mouth now? That's a long time to wait! I hope you're not in too much pain.

I am off on another weekend adventure this afternoon, and will be putting down my phone and computer. I'll think of you all as I'm floating on the river and check in when I return. I have a week off and will be taking a jaunt with the family when we return. There is A LOT scheduled, but luckily we'll have down time and time with good friends and family.

Happy SOBER Weekend,
Pav

[KENSHO]

Re: Newbies Nest

CONGRATULATOINS on 3 years SLO!!! That’s an amazing accomplishment and I hope you do something wonderful for yourself to celebrate!! I love snuggling babies too, but haven’t held one in a long time.

Wags, I’m sure the spray is either pesticides, roundup or fertilizer. None of them are good.

LAV, we have tried feeders, but hummingbirds don’t find us. Luckily we see plenty in the woods when we visit.

AVA, Yea for a successful surgery and GA experience! Happy for you!

I’m still catching up on work from being on vacation. It always adds about 2 weeks to the actual vacation time. But I’m trying to take the afternoon off to get a pedicure with my daughter. We need some together time. She’s doing pretty well entertaining herself without constant electronics, now that she’s out of summer school. But It’s time for some Mama-fun.

Time to get started! Happy Friday everyone!

[NoSugar]

Re: Newbies Nest

That is great to hear, SLO! Your quit seems really solid. I hope you are as proud of you as I am for not drinking at your spouse in these trying times :hug:.

Wags, I love my dog but she just won't quit chewing on and actually eating stupid things. She is especially fond of anything made of fabric. Her most recent semi-disaster was swallowing and barfing a whole crocheted cotton washcloth. I have no idea how anyone could swallow something like that without ripping it up first. I'm not sure how long it was in her (neither of us saw her get it) but I suspect it was a few days before it came back up as she had intestinal problems and was off her food. GROSS!!!

Look out for some intense heat, Lav. We're in it and it is heading your way I'm sorry to say. Our upstairs AC went out so unless the guy can get it fixed (he currently is mystified), we're in for some tough nights.

Remember there's no Boozeville tickets available! Have good AF weekends :smile:

[Lavande]

Re: Newbies Nest

Greetings Nesters,

Enjoying a few days of nice weather but I know another heatwave is on the way, ugh!
I just have to be sure there’s enough watermelon on hand to keep my poor chicken from frying outside. They have a lot of shade in their fenced run so at least that helps a bit.

Ava, glad to hear your report! I found 3-4 Ibuprofen tablets every 6 hrs or so to be quite effective with my recent dental woes. I hope for quick healing & Christmas will be here in a flash.

Slo, big CONGRATS to you on your 3 year anniversary, :yay:
Your quit is solid & you’re showing your strength by not drinking at current events, your husband, etc. Good for you, life will keep getting better & better, you’ll see! Keep enjoying those grandbabies & build those loving relationships.

Pav, I’m glad you’re finding ways to relieve stress. There’s always something we can do in place of drinking at our problems, right?
Early fire seasons, hurricanes & ridiculously hot temps are our reality now. We have to find a way to stop this so our kids & grandkids can live comfortably. It’s just so sad. I hope your time off helps you relax & rest.

Kensho, we rarely saw a hummingbird before we moved here, 40 miles south of our previous location. I guess it’s just warm enough here for them & there’s lots of natural vegetation for them to hide in & build nests. When conditions are just right they make an appearance. Hope you enjoyed your daughter time today.

NS, big dogs are dumb, especially Goldens, haha! Mine used to eat socks & anything else they could find. One of them used to eat the tinsel off the Christmas tree & we would find out later when we would see it glistening in the backyard, Lol. Our Greater Swiss Mountain dog (117 lbs) used to rob babies from a groundhog nest out front then carefully hide them under the pine trees out back to snack on later ~ Gross!!! The things we put up with!! When the next heatwave arrives I would lock myself up in my workshop & do some cleaning & rearranging I think

Hello to all & wishing everyone a safe night in the nest!

Lav