Monday, 24th November

[A Work in Progress]

Monday, 24th November

Thanks LV!

DG: oooooh, your black leather pants!!! Wow!

[Accountable for Me]

Monday, 24th November

Happy Birthday Cindy! Have a great one!

I am getting ready for work; kids ready for school/daycare. I can't believe it is Monday already.

I took the little one to see Madagascar 2 yesterday. It was totally awesome! Hilariously funny. A must see for anyone, any age!

Toodles for now.

[Determinator]

Monday, 24th November

Happy Birthday Cindi!!!! sorry i missed you on chat last night, so wonderful to feel the spark in your 'voice' today.

Charlee, sorry about work.... I hope they give you a bit of rest.

I have a HUGE bid to process and hand deliver by closing today. eeeeeeeeeek! mega stress. so glad not to be doing this hungover.

be well friends and all to come

[southernbelle47]

Monday, 24th November

:goodjob:Everyone!

Oh yum Det!
I was wondering what flavor to add to my turkey soup!!!!!!!!! "Cock flavored"!!

Happy B'day Cindy! Sounds like it is off to a good start!:l

I went to the gym this morning and did a h2o class. It feels great to exercise in the warm water with friends. We always have a good laugh.

We're waiting on hubby's doc to return a call. His other knee went out last week so it looks like a scope for him soon. Ugh...he is NOT a good patient! ;o)

Has anyone seen the new Bond movie?
Thinking of seeing it this week.

Have a great day everyone!

:hNancy

[bear73]

Monday, 24th November

Well day two for me here - I have been peeing like crazy and have a headache/slight coldy feeling - also had crazy dreams. I plan to stay in this week and read books/read this site/watch tv/gym it so no temptation to drink.

Friends over on Thursday for dinner and have already agreed it's an AF event - under the guise of being healthy.

Work Christmas do next week - I'm already worried about drinking/I guess if I drive that takes that option away, or I could make up something about being on anti-biotics.
I just don't want to be judged, or have to explain something so personal, or commit to something publicly then 'fail' - like I have done so many times with weight loss/smoking.
Maybe this time it should be my personal goal that is no one else's business.
Friends over the day after christmas do too - tradtionally much alcohol and cigarettes are consumed.

I've not picked the bext time have I for 30 days but when is a good time - I can always find an excuse to lapse can't I? Maybe getting over this season sober is actually good to start with as it's one of the tougher times for me.

[on my way]

Monday, 24th November

.Bear,

I think this is a great time to commit to 30 days af. Sure there will be temptation but certainly not boredom. I am with you on the being the designated driver, that is a good idea.

No what is up with the peeing thing, I did that too when I quit. Drove me nuts, I thought I had a UTI....guessing it something to do with loosing the excess water (al bloat) we carry around.

We're all here to support you over the next 28 days. And if you like being af, we'll still be here:welcome:

nat

[sammys]

Monday, 24th November

Happy B-day and hello everyone, got to get to the vaccuming my house is full of doggy hair.


Sammys

[retteacher]

Monday, 24th November

Cindi: Many thanks for the lovely tribute. We are meeting this challenge together & I have no doubts that we'll be successful. Again, happy birthday. You deserve all the blessings in the world.

PS: As far as working w/special children all my adult life: I got just as much or more from them as they got from me. I'm volunteering in my g-son's Kindergarten class, & I can see that the disabled kids seem to gravitate to me more than the regular ones. I guess I'm still sending out all those "acceptance vibes."

Everyone:

I'm doing well. I feel strong & determined. Today, I went for hours & hours & didn't think about AL at all. I have all kinds of non-AL drinks stashed for the holiday. I have Thanksgiving totally under control, & also will ask for help as needed. I'm going to enjoy the holiday sober.

Yes, we have had some very serious & thought-provoking discussions on this thread lately. I personally need that. I need to strategize every single day, because I know that a slip can occur out of nowhere. I'm beginning to recognize my own denial system.
-"It's OK, my body has healed."
-"Just this once won't hurt."

I'm beginning to realize that the damage of drinking is as much to my psyche as it is to my body. I don't want that in my life. I have a wonderful life, but it's complicated & I need all my senses about me to deal w/it (complicated adult children, g-kids, aged parents, etc).

The guilt & self-recrimination I feel when I lapse is awful. It can take me a whole day to come back from it. It's much worse than the hangover or sleepless night.

I do not want & will not go through that again.

Take care everyone.

Mary

PS: I have something I have to do in the AM tomorrow but will come here later & check in.

[spottydingo]

Monday, 24th November

Hi guys ... HAPPY BIRTHDAY Cinders!

Just a quickie today, this will be a busy week. I'm going to see my Dr tomorrow to talk about Thyroid testing. I hope she will agree to do all the ones suggested on the Stop the Thyroid Madness website. Had a long chat with my sister on Saturday about thyroid issues and she's on the same page as me -- her regular doc just moved away and she's not happy with the replacement doc, but also she feels she has many of the symptoms even tho she's taking Synthroid. We'll see!

Thursday's the big Thanksgiving with Hubby's local family (cousins), then Friday a long trip to Hubby's Mom's house for the day -- which I'm not especially looking forward to. We don't get along that well with her new husband (he's the reason she's not coming to the big local Thanksgiving, he never wants to go anywhere) so its a rather awkward visit with lots of small talk and attempts at having something in common. Plus, its a long harrowing drive. Ugh. I know, I should make the best of it, thats what the Holidays are about ... etc. etc.

I'm cooking an organic free range heritage turkey for just us (a small one), so that should be different. Not sure how it will taste compared to a regular turkey, so it will be a culinary adventure.

What are other Americans doing for Thanksgiving? Anyone doing anything really fun and/or different?

Have a good week!

[retteacher]

Monday, 24th November

SpottyDingo: I too am having a Thanksgiving dinner here.
-Baked Ziti (We're Italian & always have pasta dishes).
-Turkey & trimmings.
-Ham.
-Pies & Pumpkin cake.

I was thinking that sometime during the dinner we'd go around the room (there will be 15 of us), & name something/someone we're thankful for. There will be some little kids...it'll be interesting to hear what they have to say. I'll tell people to be as specific as possible...nothing too generic.

Mary

[Pamina]

Monday, 24th November

I also know what you mean, Bear. I drank endless amounts of water in the first week and spent most of it in the loo. But peeing is good, it will pass, and you will feel much better next week.

Cindi - Happy Birthday!! I hope the rest of your day is unfolding as well as the morning.

Janice - thanks for your kind words. Like with other issues here, it's so comforting to hear from people who've already walked the walk. Yes, I expect it will take a while.

Louise - so good to 'see' you again! I hope you've been keeping well after your own grief last summer.

DG - goodness me, girl, **black leather pants**!!! All this change has gotta stop somewhere, next thing we know you'll be doing pole dancing! Good to see you too, btw, and I am pea green with envy re size 8!!! My weight loss stopped along with the rest of life in September, but I was happy to discover in the WW meeting last week that I've only put on a pound.

Very interesting that about changing over from the 'thrills' into long term maintenance mode. What is it we strive for at different points in time, what constitutes success and reward. I'm an introvert and really getting into my grief counselling where rearranging bits of my mind seems to hold endless fascination for me. But you sound very much the extrovert, so I'm not sure what an equivalent would be.

Which brings me back to flow. Thanks for your thoughts, WIP, as always. If you get a chance to think of a few articles on it or have something about it on your own website, do please let me know. I get what you're saying about it constituting a form of 'escape' in that we're not in 'observer' mode, but what intrigues me is the potentially healing/transformative/positive cumulative effect of engaging in a pleasurable/absorbing activity which reinforces a sense of connecting to a productive part of ourselves rather than escaping an inadequacy. In other words, can it change our self-image over time and also become its own reward. Ergo - long term maintenance!

Having said that, I'm concentrating on very basic stuff right now. My sleep patterns have gone haywire over the past two months, and my mission this week is to make sure I get tired enough during the day to sleep at night. Otherwise I stay up til 2, 3, 4 or 5. I've slept fine the last two nights and went for 2 walks today. Got caught in a hail storm the first time and just plain rain the second. Hey, that's England for you.

Keep well everybody.

[Loppy lugs]

Monday, 24th November

Happy birthday Cindi glad to hear you so chipper.

Pamima, I am sorry to hear that your Father has passed. It is hard, but we only hurt so much because we loved them so much and we wouldn't trade that for anything.

Have had a bad few months but somehow managed to stay AF and hopeful for the future.

[LVT25]

Monday, 24th November

Hi Loppy! Good to "see" you!!! Stick around, ok?

Mary--do you ever make "Bagna Cauda"? We have some Italian friends that make this on Christmas eve (and other times) and I love it!