January: Just Do It! Week 3

[Lavande]

January: Just Do It! Week 3

Good evening all!

LBH, I may bequeath you my hens - those girls only left me 2 eggs today.........some days they are more 'pets' than egg layers I promised my NP on Tuesday that I would consume no eggs until May & have my cholesterol level rechecked anyway. I just ordered some red rice yeast, hopefully that will help reduce my level. I'll be eating more vegan for a while

Chill, your dinner date must have looked like a real tool! Sure glad I don't drink anymore!!!!!

Lode, enjoy your sister's visit, that's nice. I was blessed with 3 brothers.....always wished I could trade in 1 for a sister

Cyn, Sooty, Lil & Dill - greetings to you as well.

I'm calling it a day.
Still praying for a full recovery for Cowgal, God bless her.

Take care, all of you!
Lav

[cyntree]

January: Just Do It! Week 3

Hit a bit of a bump in the road (mentally) this evening as I was driving around finishing up some duties. Why do things always seem so hard when you're in the car? Anyway, my first thought was to get home and post to you all. But on the way I stopped....to buy......fettucine (thanks, Lode). I figured if I was going to have something not-perfectly- healthy, it might as well be that. While I was waiting for take-out (an unaccustomed luxury) I went into a bookstore, found some things that I need for business, and had a mocha latte (non-dairy). This is my definition of a 'spoil me' evening. And you know what - I feel better now, particularly because I'm writing to you all.

Chill - you are a star for handling last night so well - congrats! LBH - OK, now you have to give up the recipes for the soups..... And you roast the chicken first and then make the soup from the bones? Do tell...

Glad to hear there's better news re: CG. Will keep sending prayers.

Love to all - have a lovely sleep tonight.

[spedteach]

January: Just Do It! Week 3

Almost time for zzzz's here.
Had a drinking dream last night and the first thing I thought about when I woke up was having to tell all of you folks that I drank. The thought of starting over counting days is sometimes all the incentive I need to accept the forever part of not drinking.

Cyn, nothing like rain in the desert is there? And I loved the stone tablets comment, I can hardly wait to read LBH's dissertation discussing the phenomena of stone tablets.
Re Red Rice Yeast. My sister used that and niacin for awhile and successfully kept her cholesterol down but eventually had to go on statins.

Dill, that dark cloud has definitely dissipated for me. It's like the big hole I was trying to fill with al is getting smaller or filled with other things. The pessimist in me thinks though that the darkness, that hole will always be lurking around inside of me somewhere.

Am thinking about cowgal, like a lot of us. Have been in a place where all seems hopeless and dying seems like an option. Mostly I'm thinking about those boys. Breaks my heart to think about that whole family.

Night all.
Shelley

[sooty]

January: Just Do It! Week 3

Morning, so glad that there is some encouraging news about CG I lit a candle for her yesterday - what a lovely site that is.
This weekend is going to be so busy as daughter no 2 is 21 today and home from uni to celebrate. I'll be able to log on tonight as she's going out with her friends but the rest of the weekend will be so busy.
If you're planning on meeting in chat this weekend I won't be able to do that but next weekend will be great.
Take care everyone and have a good friday.
Sooty

[dill]

January: Just Do It! Week 3

Hello All!

Lav, my RN friend who is also into holistic medicine, swears by Red Yeast Rice. It works for her.

Cyn, good job going for the fettucine!

Sped, thanks for the comments about the cloud dissipating for you. I'm glad for you that it did, and I always like hearing that it will eventually go away altogether!

Soots, have a lovely weekend with your family! What a special celebration it will be.

Chill, I loved the description of your date! Good job staying af!

Lode, have a great visit with your sister!

LBH, you really make a chicken go a long way! Are we talking a 5 lb bird? I often buy a 4-5 lb. chicken and roast it. We usually get at least 3 meals out of one. I too boil the bones, but I usually use it as a treat for the dogs over their food. They love it!

Prayers to Cowgal. If anybody hears anything more, please let us know.

Lil, Red, Finding, SD, Open, I hope everyone has a great day!

[lilmea]

January: Just Do It! Week 3

Hello Everyone,

Lav-Maybe it's not the hen's fault. Maybe you need a new rooster?

Sooty-I also lite a candle for CG. Many form MWO have and that in itself was inspire ring. Have a great time with your daughter on here 21 Bday.

Chil-Congrats on making through your date AF. Keep hanging in there. Those af days are piling up.

Lodes-Have fun with your sister.

LHB-I hope Mr. Lord is feeling better soon. Take care of yourself. Wouldn't want you to get sick as well.

Sped-I had a drunk dream a few nights ago for the first time in a long time. Lav said she still has them occasionally so I guess it's normal and we are still just going through the recovery process. It's better to wake up from a drunk dream than to wake up hung over!

Why do things always seem so hard when you're in the car?

Cyn-I don't know, but you are right. Maybe our brains have more idle time when we are driving and so have more time to wander into bad thinking places.

Dill-Hope you have a great day at work and you don't get the bad weather we've been having.

Hello to Red, Finding, SD, Open, MM and anyone who follows.

Wishing everyone a good, af day.

[Lavande]

January: Just Do It! Week 3

Good Friday morning everyone

The possible storm predicted for last night never developed & I'm perfectly happy with that!

Looks like our group here has had a pretty successful week, I am happy for everyone.
I still have Cowgal foremost in my mind, praying for some good news for her today!

Lil, I don't keep a rooster anymore, they were too nasty! It's just time to go out & threaten the hens with a trip to the Amish farmer down the road. He's offered many times to take care of the problem........they know what that means!!!

My DIL has made contact with her birth mother & they will be meeting for the first time this weekend. She's very excited about this - I'm feeling kind of neutral. I glad that my DIL is happy but I'm feeling sorry for her Mom, the woman who raised her. I really don't know where to go with all this......it's a strange & unfamiliar phenomenon to me.......

Greetings to Dill, LBH, Sooty, Chil, lode, Shelley, cyn, Red, Finding, Open, SD - did I get everyone?????
Wishing everyone a terrific AF Friday - the weekend is almost here

Lav

[Chillgirl]

January: Just Do It! Week 3

Hi Everyone!
Hope you are all having a good friday... im off out again tonight on another AF mission this time with my girlfriends who will no doubt drink my quota for me.

Thank you all so much for your encouragement... i couldnt do it without you!

[FindingMyself]

January: Just Do It! Week 3

Morning everyone,

I caved. Hate to report it, but there it is. After struggling through the hardest days 4-7 for me and getting a couple o weeks strung together, feeling confident that I was committed to a month - at least - I am disappointed in myself. It was really pointless, as it always is. I am re-committing to finishing out the month AF. I know I am doing much better than I was before I started coming here back in August, so I am reassessing what works and what doesn't, and trying to maintain a positive frame of mind.

Running a bit late for work so will check in at the other end of the day.

[ladybirdheart]

January: Just Do It! Week 3

Good for coming around, Finding. It has always helped me to speak out after I drink, it helps me learn from it and move on. You are in the best company. OK Dill and Cyn, a sample food diary in thanks for a chicken. Take one four to five pound really expensive local free range organic chicken and roast it using only salt and pepper and a few garlic cloves inside. Take the meat off the bones, reserve, and put everything else including the drippings from the roasting pan into a stock pot with an onion and a carrot and simmer in filtered or spring water for at least six hours or overnight (this is why it is good for us, as well as our chicken, to have/be a chicken that was raised with care). Strain, chill the liquid (which will be concentrated and thick when cold) overnight so you can take off the fat, and once more go over the solids saving everything for the pets but what is left of the bones (I have been trying to find a low tech solution for making bone meal but have not found one that would work for me yet). You should be able to get at least ten meals/servings (if you don?t use your basic chicken and broth in three days, freeze portions of the roasted chicken in the broth). Meal one and two?we were hungry while the broth was cooking so we had grilled flatbread sandwiches with a chopped olives, roasted red pepper, smoked mozzarella, roast chicken, and a handful of greens. Meals three and four?traditional chicken soup with carrots, celery, peas, rustic noodles, and at the last minute a few spinach leaves and a garnish of parsley and a big squeeze of lemon. Meals five and six?soup with roasted green chile, roasted corn kernels, grilled onion and a bit of cumin seed, topped with avocado slices, a little crumbled fresh cheese, corn tortilla strips, and lime. Meals seven and eight?a Thai style soup with ginger, lemon grass, shallots, fresh chile, cilantro, and lime (or make one with green curry paste and coconut milk). Meals nine and ten?make an Indian style one with toasted whole coriander, cumin, and black mustard seeds, ginger, oranges, coconut milk and fresh mangos, one chicken can go a long way with us, I just get an idea and cook the chicken with love, we get over what ails us, and the chicken is honored. Except for the bones. For now. Food is good. Love, Ladybird.

[mandalay]

January: Just Do It! Week 3

Just been catching up on some reading - goodness, this thread is really like reading a book!

Congrats to everyone who has found the strength and courage to remain AF this week. Finding - just write it off, and bravo for having the courage to speak out. It's those little dark secrets that do the damage I think - they keep festering on and building up when really there is no need.

Chill - had to smile at your description of your dinner date's descent into drunkenness! I had an experience myself the other day where I sat drinking coffee while a couple of (in their 60s like me) colleagues drank their way through a bottle of wine in half an hour. I felt almost embarrassed for them to be honest.... but only one short month ago that would have been me! And maybe not even sharing it! How COULD I? I must have made such a fool of myself in the past! I had to bring myself up short though.... you know what they say - there is nothing worse than having a quiet smoke with a friend who has recently given up the weed... they just go on and on about the damage it does, and how it's such a dreadful habit, blah blah... and I could sense a similar attitude building up in me about alcohol as they rapidly became quite tipsy! I kept my mouth firmly shut, I can promise, because who knows what stories they may have up their sleeves about what I may have said or done in the past! But I really wasn't thinking those thoughts to gloat - it was just that it really brought it home to me how I must have looked, sounded or behaved in the past. It gave me quite a kick up the butt, I can tell you. I just have to keep on keeping on.

Sped, I understand where you are coming from - I too feel that the black hole is always going to be lurking inside me ready to take over if I let my resolve slip.

Thank you all for the kind words about my aches and pains. I had X Rays this week, and at last have been given some decent pain relief so I am finally feeling a bit more human. However, I have not gone all this way to detox my liver only to start shovelling more chemicals into it! But I can't have it both ways, so I will just take the meds for a few weeks to get over the hump (and to let me actually clean my house, which has really suffered these last few weeks) and then investigate some more natural ways to help myself. This is not just the year I gave up AL, it's the year I finally start taking some care of myself and my innards.

So, I am feeling a lot more positive today now that I can finally think straight, and slept fairly well last night. I am still taking valerian but I've cut the melatonin from 3 to 2, and tonight will drop back to 1. (Funny how I swallow vitamins and supplements without a care in the world but am so scared of 'proper' drugs!! )

Lav, I so wish i could post a pic of my girlies up the end of my yard! They are only youngsters, not properly into laying yet and some days I still get no eggs, sometimes 2 or 3 (4 hens) but they are such cuties.

Have a great day, everyone!

Mandalay

[ladybirdheart]

January: Just Do It! Week 3

Mandalay, it is always so good to hear from you and I am glad you have some pain relief and can put your house in order. Like you and Shelley (and others if not all on this thread) I too have ?the black hole?. It is hard to live with as is, and keeping it filled or tamed or soothed or amused is a challenge. Love and peace, Ladybird.

[Lavande]

January: Just Do It! Week 3

Evening friends

LBH, honestly, you deserve a gold medal for your ability to do so much with one chicken!! Wow, you have a real art form going there - good for you!

Finding, you hopped right back on the wagon & that's what really counts! Refocus & stay on the sober bus with us!

Speaking of the sober bus - did our driver Sooty check in today? Sometimes I read the day's posts too fast & forget by the time I get to the end - oops!

Mandalay, I'm glad you were offered some pain relief this week. None of us want to ingest more chemicals at this point but you really do want to remain mobile. Sleeping well & getting your household chores done go a long way in preserving your mental health

I saw just now that Cowgal is continuing to show improvement, thank God for that! Hopefully she feels the thoughts & prayers we've been sending her.

We should think about a contest - see who can come up with the most effective way to keep 'the black hole' filled!

Wishing everyone a comfy & cozy AF night!
Take care,

Lav

[spedteach]

January: Just Do It! Week 3

Oh all of you, thank you, thank you for being out there in cyberspace for me. I got home from work, changed into raggedy, comfy sweats, made a strong cup of Earl Grey and logged on. It's like having friends at home waiting to chat with you.

LBH, gettin close to supper time in this house. I do appreciate your wonderful writing abilities but your food descriptions just about did me in. Your text was definitely my appetizer tonight. And thankfully my hb has been busy in the kitchen this afternoon.

Lode, give that sister of yours some hugs from me. I had a younger sister whom I was ever so close to. Lost her ten years ago to that demon we're all struggling with. And I miss her every day.

Finding, we're here for you, know that. It can be very frustrating to keep starting over again and again. Just pick yourself up, dust yourself off....you know the drill.

Man, Clean that durn house! Am glad you got some pain relief. Ever try acupuncture? As for remembering how I looked, sounded, behaved while under the influence; it's a place I do not let myself go. Don't need that kind of punishment.

Lav, I'm mighty curious about that Amish farmer down the road...

And Chill, am curious encore. Are you going out with that fellow again?

Dill, Lil, Sooty all of y'all. It's supper time!

Are we chatting this weekend?

With lots of hugs and genuine affection,

Shelley

[ladybirdheart]

January: Just Do It! Week 3

Thank you too for being here Shelley. I am so deeply sorry that you had to endure the loss of your sister. I have no siblings and have them rather idealized perhaps, but it is a loss that is probably tweaked daily even when one adjusts. When Dill lost her brother last year I saw what a dear, cool sister she was and know that you were too. Love, Ladybird