AF Daily - Monday 3rd August

[Kayla]

Hi everyone,

Thought I'd start the thread since I'm a time zone ahead! Been off the boards for a couple of weeks - school holidays - so busy, busy family life at this end... Just did a flash read of a few threads to try and catch up on some of what I've missed.

Just passed a month continuous sobriety mark. And only 3 days drinking out of the last 62. Relief. Feels great to be sober and having less and less drinking thoughts.

Life's good. Feeling more positive - depression has lifted. Have a holiday to look fwd to in a week or so. Great to see my kids enjoying having a puppy. Hubby and I having fun planning an extension to the house.

Good going everyone
Great to be back with you all

[Arrow]

AF Daily - Monday 3rd August

Yes Kayla it's amazing what happens to your general mood once you stop drinking. I've been on the wagon for nearly a month now and just feel so much happier.

We forget that alcohol is a depressant and its effects over the long term push down your base line brain activity. Give it a few weeks of not drinking and the mood just floats up, up and away.

I've also lost loads of weight, I am nearly 7KG lighter and just have to lose another 4KG and my BMI will be inside the healthy range.

I guess a great diet and exercise are also really helping with the mood thing as well.

The only thing heavier is my pocket, it's almost like I've given myself a pay-rise.

------

My blog, spare me a read/comment if you have time: Arrow in the blue

[Doggygirl]

AF Daily - Monday 3rd August

Good morning Ab Landers! Kayla thanks for getting us started today.


:yougo:Congratulations Kayla on 1 Month Continuous Sobriety!!!:yougo:

It's great to hear that your depression has improved and that life sounds busy but good. Thoughts of kids and a puppy make me smile!

Arrow I also liked reading about some of the benefits you are seeing in sobriety! Losing some excess poundage and gaining some pocket money ROCKS.

Today is already a productive one here. I got up VERY early to get my stuff out of the dehyrator. I'm really liking that method for storage as once the water is eliminated, you can store a lot in a small space. Tonight I am going to dehydrate some orange colored sweet tomatoes which need to be treated as fruit (different temp than veggies) and also a couple of peaches if they are still in the fridge by mid afternoon. I haven't done any fruit yet so we shall see.

After my morning round of meetings and errands, I need to get out to th garden and see what Evil Bunny has been up to the last couple of days. That is if the sun comes out. The weather forcast calls for a sunny hot day but right now it's cloudy and has the feel of "storms" to me. I will go with the flow whatever comes. I am much more relaxed about stuff when sober!

Have a great day everyone. Strength and hope to anyone who is suffering today.

DG

[dill]

AF Daily - Monday 3rd August

Good morning Abbers!

DG, I love hearing about your gardening and preserving adventures. You have got me intrigued about dehydrating. I may purchase a dehydrator for next season. We have put of loads of corn in the freezer. We managed to keep the raccoons out with a two pronged approach: electric wire around the patch and moving our dog and her house over by the garden as a temorary 'summer quarters'! Bunnies haven't been a problem for us because where we live, our dogs are mostly free to roam the yard and garden all day and they think bunnies are the best meal a dog could have. (Sorry, but that's reality here in the countryside.)

Kayla, I am so happy for you!!! I remember your posts from two months ago and how Depressed (with a capitol "D") you were. Your post today was like a ray of sunshine!

Arrow, you are so right about alc acting as a depressant. AF feels so much better, and is much more economical. I have yet to experience any magical weight-loss though. There are two reasons: I eat more when my stomach isn't irritated by alc, and I seem to be eating more sweets. Anyway, I can't worry about that now. I tried to diet last month and it triggered a relapse!:upset:

AFM, I finished The Power of Attraction, and found it to have some good suggestions. Thanks!

Well, I must get ready for work. Have a great day every one!

[Accountable for Me]

AF Daily - Monday 3rd August

Good morning!

I awoke all bright eyed and bushy tailed this morning. I had a lovely nap yesterday afternoon when Little AFM slept. She had a 4 hour nap! We needed to catch up on some much needed sleep. We have been going to be so late and up very early due to the heat last week. We went to bed relatively early last night and man, do I ever feel rested!

Today is BC day here in Canada. It is our province's b-day so another day off for me. I am going to approach it at my leisure. I am going into my dad's this morning as he has dug out a huge box of photos from when I was a small child. It also has pics of him, his mother (who passed when I was 8, in which, absolutely devastated me.). I am going to start going through them and putting them in albums, scan them and burn them on CDR's etc. Since my father had battled cancer this last year, he has asked me to have them. Which means the world to me. So we are going to go through them together today. I am pretty excited about it.

Other than that, maybe some shopping and just taking it easy. By tomorrow I will be ready and looking forward to working. I am glad that I decided to have some 'downtime' this weekend and catch up on some rest.

Dill, I am glad that you enjoyed the book. I saw that there are many different books relating to the 'Law of Attraction'. I found it helps with the thinking 'positive' about everything. I try to implement some of the techniques I read about into my every day life. It certainly has helped for me.

Arrow, yes, quitting drinking is like giving yourself a pay-raise! I completely agree. I really enjoy spending of all that money saved on new things that I can actually see and enjoy! I also had quit smoking when I quit drinking and man, talk about having extra money! No more need to run out to the store each day for a bottle of wine/vodka and a pack of ciggies. No more anxiety, depression, and overall bad health. It is a wonderful feeling isn't it?!

Kayla, congrats on your one month! You are sounding soooooo much better! Keep it up! It only gets better and better!

DG, the evil rabbit! That is funny! I have a food dehydrator and it made for some really great jerky! I tried to dehydrate fruit but I didn't think it turned out well. That was me though. I think I didn't cut it thin enough. My dehydrator is buried in a box in the basement somewhere. I feel a bit inspired to pull it out and try it again! It has been years! Let us know how you make out.

Well, I am going to finish my coffee and return some emails from my friends outside of MWO. I have been pretty 'self absorbed' these days and need to reconnect.

Have a great day, everyone! xoxo

[Lavande]

AF Daily - Monday 3rd August

Hello Abbers,

Mid-morning check in! Have tons of chores lined up for today, just not in a rush..........think I'm a bit too relaxed??

My granddogs will be going home this evening, thank God! I really do love the 'Insanity Twins' but they leave me and my 2 older dogs rather exhausted after 4 days!

Great to hear from you Kayla, you're doing great, I'm very happy for you.

DG, you're having way too much fun with the dehydrator, ha ha. I've never tried that method for preserving food. My brother did, once upon a time but didn't stick with it. I'm sure his equipment is history now.

Arrow, I could be the poster child for alcohol related depression. Rx antidepressants didn't work, just left me feeling numb and wanting to drink even more. I am an entirely new person since going AF and supplementing with an herbal product called Amoryn.

Dill, I am turning my attention to my weight once again. The 12 lbs. I gained after going NF have to go!! So far I've lost 2 lbs. I've not been able to totally commit to Weight Watchers but at least I am getting some control back. I've had a serious problem with sweets also. Number 10. on the Declaration Plan I adopted last winter is to eat only healthy foods that nourish my body............I need to remember that

If anyone is interested - I will post the 10 Declarations. They were a big part of the Habit Busting Program I completed last winter. That program helped me get my stuff together enough so that I was able to join this program and find success & much happiness

Wishing everyone a wonderful AF day!
Lav

[Lavande]

AF Daily - Monday 3rd August

Hi AFM,
We cross posted. Enjoy your day off
Lav

[Marshy]

AF Daily - Monday 3rd August

Wheeeeeeeeeee! I'm off work until Friday. Now THAT'S a good start to the week. I'm planning lots of exercise and healthy eating, both of which I've been neglecting a little bit. Just back from the gym and have bought a load of veg to make... some sort of veg and tofu and brown rice and spicy sauce type thing.

Lavande, I've got a stone (14lbs) to get rid of so I'm getting back to a healthy eating plan too. No more ice-cream!

Dill, what kind of dogs do you have? I never think of dogs eating rabbits but I guess they do. My parents' cat is on a bunny a day at this time of year.

Kayla - good to hear you're making good progress.

Welcome Arrow!

DG - how do you rehydrate stuff when you want to use it? Say, a cucumber?

Hi AFM & all to come.

[Determinator]

AF Daily - Monday 3rd August

Happy hangover-free Monday ABland!!!!!

so nice to see your shining happy faces

Kayla, one month is fabulous! and Arrow, congrats on being right behind.

ok, I had the weirdest freaking dream ever: in my dream I had a pet dog that was involved in an accident and was clinically dead, but using the body of another dog from the accident I put his head on the other dogs body and miraculously he lived. The rest of the dream I spent trying to keep my 'messed up' dog away from mirrors so he couldn't see himself! and yes, in the dream my dog spoke pretty good English so he'd definitely have questions for me if he knew his head and body didn't match.

so..... what the heck is a dream like that supposed to mean? yikes.

ok, back to reality. I'm at the point that weekends don't even provoke the slightest urge for al anymore. what a blessing I assure you. I haven't even had any N/A wine or beer in ages as I just don't even think about it. My fav drinks are water and 'good' coffee.

and now for AFM I'm going to sing "Oh Canada". hint: plug your ears LOL happy BC day up there!!!

ok, I better go make some darn money.

be well my friends

[Determinator]

AF Daily - Monday 3rd August

ps... Marshy your meal plan sounds awesome. just add some garlic and I'd call that a great breakfast

[Gold]

AF Daily - Monday 3rd August

10 days in the bag! And barely a thought of alcohol, mildly depressed on and off though so it's been great to read Arrow and Kayla's words on moods, sounds like a little more time and that will be a thing of the past too.

Love the sound of the puppy Kayla, I have one too, she'll be 12 weeks this Thursday.

Doggygirl I love the sound of your growing and preserving it must be so rewarding. Your tales of Evil Bunny reminds me of Wallace and Gromit in "The Curse of the Were-Rabbit" - don't know if it's made it to the US.

Dill, Bunny for dogs, yep best meal they can have. I spend quite a lot of time trying to recreate just that for my dogs, ground raw veg (from Bunny's tummy), raw meat and stinky tripe. They love it!

AFM you are so positive a real inspiration.

Lavande, those 10 declarations sound interesting I would like to know more.

Hi Marshy, that weight will fall off I'm sure, especially now our promised "BBQ summer" is out the window!

Determinator, hmmm your dream, well dogs symbolise faithfulness and protection, old head on young shoulders. Maybe that's you, faithful, protective and wise, other than that I have no idea

[Doggygirl]

AF Daily - Monday 3rd August

Hi again! Gold, we raw feed our dogs too. You are brave to deal with the tripe. I know that is really really really good for them but generally don't get that far these days. Chicken, turkey and mackeral for meat/bone sources and also eggs, some veggies (dehydrated olewo carrots are easy) and some supplements like Grizzly Salmon Oil, Vit E and also a multi vitamin. And me and the Beagle share the Glucosomine/Condroitin stuff.

Dehydrating rocks. I haven't learned much about rehydrating yet though. :H Marshy I don't think I will rehydrate any cukes. (rehydration is done just by soaking in water) I don't think that crispness would magically come back! I do like them dehydrated though, like a chip only without the fat and salt and all that. Zuke chips are excellent. Zukes, mushrooms, peppers, onions and all that sort of stuff I will rehydrate and use in soup, stew, etc. It will be nice to have stuff from my garden or even the farmers market that is not all full of chemicals this winter.

AFM I haven't done much fruit yet (just some berries) but there are some fruits where it's recommended to pre-treat them in ascorbic acid and that can be more or less important depending on what type of dehydrator and method one uses. Speaking from theory only of course at this point! Will let you know more once I try more fruit. I want to do peaches and then later apples that are fairly local. Some grapes too (raisins!!) if I can find some local grown ones. Some of hula's bananas would be good. And pineapple. Trail mix time.

OK now I'm rambling. We have the strangest and worst water company in the whole wide world. It's scary to drink their water. It's scary to think that these crazy people completely control whether or not we have water coming into our house. They haven't read our meter since we've been living here for about 7 or 8 years. Now they are making that our fault and I sense we are gearing up for some sort of a fight that will probably end up costing me and Mr. Doggy serious $$$$. Several years ago we thought about drilling a well as we have been concerned about this crazy little water district all along. Now I wish we would have.

More I'm sure as THAT saga unfolds. Not much can make me run for gummy fish these days, but those people did today!!! (and after all this work on the healthy stuff!)

DG

[dill]

AF Daily - Monday 3rd August

Marshy, I have two mixed breed dogs. One is an Akita/lab mix and the other is Australian shephard/chow. They work together as a team to keep critters down to a managable level!:H When we first moved here we had a big problem with groundhogs. Since we used to have horses and we currently have cattle, ground hog holes are a danger. The ground hogs have been pushed out of the pasture areas by these dogs. They keep the coyotes and fox away, too. That was especially good when we had laying hens! We don't have the hens anymore, though. We also have two barn cats. They like to catch and eat bunnies, too!

Wow, Gold and DG! That's amazing what you do to feed your pups! Mine get dry dog food mixed with table scraps and any critters they can catch!

Deter, that is an absolutely crazy dream! I don't even know where to begin thinking about what it could mean. Sorry!

Lav, good luck with the weight loss. I'm sure you'll get a handle on it soon. You are one of the most determined people I know! As for me, at least I've maintained my weight, not gained. But, it's disheartening when you read others that say they stop drinking and lose weight. I get on the scale everyday and it is always the same! Oh well. At least the calories I take in are healthier ones than before!

[speedster]

AF Daily - Monday 3rd August

Happy AF Monday,

DG - dehydrate Zucch's! I need to try that. It seems my harvesting zucchini every 12 hrs. I should have gotten two this evening but forgot and am too lazy to go out now. In the morning.

Hello to Kayla & Arrow - congrats on your achievements!!! Way to go!

AFM - Good deal about the new hairstyle and a holiday!

DET - That is a weird dream and I like the loyalty interpretation. My dreams are always like a defrag of the day before all jumbled together. Except I did have a rather lucid dream just before it was time to wake up. Now I can't recall the details. I should write them down.

All this talk about PUPPIES, makes me want to see some pictures!! Love them puppy pics. woof, woof.

Took pupster out in the kayak again. He finally sat but it didn't last the entire trip. He decided to turn around and face me and offer kisses and ear nibbles. It was quite funny. He was ready to get out of the boat. I took him to shore and let him swim after me for a few minutes. I think riding in the kayak will be for when he's older. He's 3 and has too much energy. I would love to be him for a day and run like the wind and roll in the grass and sleep upside down.

Just grateful to be home by myself this week and not using it as an excuse to drink. Kayaking could be a great excuse to come home and have a few beers.

I am grateful that I no longer have excuses to drink, just real-life reasons to live AF.

[treeman]

AF Daily - Monday 3rd August

Just a quick post......

Haven't been posting in a while. Still see some familiar people.....
Catching up on the threads that I have been missing.

Very busy with work but fell into the weekend party crowd. Felt that I deserved to "unwind" on Saturday after the stressful week. Big mistake, gained 3 pounds and spent way too much money. The AL made me more depressed the following day, having plenty of time to lament my situation........

Well I have done this before, so......
2 days AF