AF April ~ 2010

[dill]

AF April ~ 2010

Happy unhung Friday!

Cyn and Red, I can very much relate to your message of "where I am, I am". The acceptance does bring some peace, doesn't it? I will likely be turning your phrase over in my mind a time or two today, Cyn.

LBH, I feel for you. The disturbance in your vision must be very difficult for you. And on top of that, the uncertainty of what happens next. Please let us know how the doc visit goes. Does your other eye work reasonably well? I wish I could come over there to visit with you and un-wind you!:l

Lav, did you get all the garden soil out from under you nails? I had my gardening gloves on yesterday. We put some pansies in a basket out on the deck and will put some in the ground today. The ground was still to wet yesterday.

Sooty, I saw 2 pea plants pushing their way up through the soil! How are your coming along?

Spuddle, sometimes it is hard to sweep away the negative thoughts, eh? We have some on this thread that consciously gave up negative thinking for Lent! I can't believe Lent is over Sunday.

in view of everything you are dealing with, and its ok to feel down. Sometimes when you accept that, its enough to lighten your mood.

Chill, you are right about that. Once again, "acceptance" is key. It helps to add "this too shall pass" when in the midst of a down mood.

DG, Welcome. It's nice to see you!

Raven, any soup on today?

Hi, to Mario, IAD, Sped and all who check in today.

[Chillgirl]

AF April ~ 2010

Happy Good AF Friday Guys!

Cyn - For all your travelling around you sound like you are in a really good calm place

Dill - "and this too shall pass" is one of my most fav quotes....

Redstar - You are spot on, PERCEPTION is everything! I had a really difficult meeting this morning with my ex regarding finances and when i woke up i decided it was going to go great. I greeted him with such enthusiam and excitement over the plans I wanted to discuss with him, instead of guarded nervousness, that my enthusiam couldnt help but rub off on him! So although its not going to be easy, it looks like he will help me out as much as he can....

This Good Friday just got Great....:l

[Lavande]

AF April ~ 2010

Good Morning AFers,

Nice & sunny out again

My fingernails are clean Dill - I have a good nail brush! It really is too wet out to accomplish much just yet. Maybe next week!

Greetings to everyone, IAD, Mario, Sooty, cyn, Red, Chill & all who stop in today!

I am jumping in the car soon to go take care of a few chores, get some fresh air & sun on my face..........can't ask for much more. Wishing everyone a great AF Friday.

Lav

[spedteach]

AF April ~ 2010

Good morning,
Do we have a new mantra, "where I am, I am"? Acceptance is an important concept to grasp but too I think often(and lovingly) about the Serenity Prayer. Accept the things I cannot change but have the courage to change the the things I can. And of course the wonderful wisdom of knowing the difference. I've had lots of changes over the past year and some of these didn't just happen. They came about because I took the plunge, made a concerted effort to try something new. I was such a solitary drinker and it took up so much time. When I quit, I did have a lot of time to fill. I'm grappling (there's an image for ya) with where I want my sober life to be, what direction shall I go.
Whew! this is exhausting. I am where I am but I'm workin on it.

It's freezing here 28 degrees this morning. Forecast of 30 mile per hour winds this afternoon.
I'm going to make gumbo, with shrimp, andouille sausage, and pass the tabasco. And maybe some corn bread.

Morning Dill and Lav and Red. You three are so constant. Dill, do you have the day off for Good Friday?

Chill, I always look at your sobriety date and think how fun to have it on January 1st. A girl who made a NY's resolution and stuck to it. And happy 3 month anniversary.

Cyn, am so glad you're back with us. I can just hear that evening sage thrush.

Just sent LBH an email. Will try to catch up with sometime this weekend and give her some of the comfort and caring you all are sending her way.

Later,love,
S.

[IAD]

AF April ~ 2010

Happy Good Friday......As you can see I'm relaxing ! Ha! Keep Sober ! IAD

[cyntree]

AF April ~ 2010

Hello again - taking a break to post mid-morning here - wonderful to feel everyone's 'zeitgeist' today. I had a battle last night - hours long - but won...what a wonderful way to wake up this morning. I feel that it's important to set the intention, so here is my promise for an AF Friday.

Sped, so good to hear from you, thanks for the reminder of the Serenity Prayer. If you make a meeting with LBH, please give her a group hug on our behalf. LBH - hope things are looking up (literally) for you. Red - hope your quiet Friday feels great. Dill and Lav, happy gardening! Chill, great job with your attitude choice - you are a terrific model, and BTW, happy 3 months! Anyone know where Lil is?

Rav, IAD, Mario, everyone, thanks for your posts.

Good Good Friday all -

[sooty]

AF April ~ 2010

Hello everyone, sorry to be posting so late but had a difficult day here as our dog seems to have suffered a stroke. We've spoken to the vet (closed because of holiday) and his advice was to let the dog rest today and then take him to the surgery tomorrow morning.
Poor old dog, doesn't seem to be in pain but his back leg doesn't seem to be working and he's lost his appetite. I've been hand feeding him roast chicken and even that isn't doing the job.
I'll let you know how we get on tomorrow.
I hope everyone else is having a better day. Dill I haven't had my plants yet - a friend is starting them in his greenhouse ...congrats on the arrival of yours!
See you all tomorrow gang
love Sooty

[spedteach]

AF April ~ 2010

So sorry to hear about your dog, Sooty? I know how attached I am to my pets. Maybe the paralysis will turn out to be transient. Will be thinking of you tonight.

And Cyn, yes, yes where is Lil? I sent her a PM about a week ago and have not heard back.

[Doggygirl]

AF April ~ 2010

Hi all and happy Friday! Sooty, sending you healing vibes for your dog. I too hope the paralysis is temporary. One of our dogs had a frightening accident and head injury and at first, she was paralyzed in both back legs. She DID get the use of her legs back, so it CAN happen.

LBH, sending you positive vibes as well!

Sped I can relate to your comments about figuring out what you really want your sober life to be. I don't ponder that so much any more but I'm more enjoying the ride and the surprises (all good so far!) that seem to come around every turn.

Cyntree, I loved your post which is a fabulous example of taking sobriety one day at a time. That is all any of us can do whether it's Day 1 or Day Zillion.

Chill, you have enough "perky" for all of us! (and I love it!) :H

Hello to everyone else! I hope everyone has a safe and sober Easter. I'm grateful to know that mine will at least be sober! (and safe, I hope, of course!)

DG

[Lavande]

AF April ~ 2010

Evening April friends,

Another nice day here, really enjoyed it! Grateful to be sober & free to do whatever I want these days (well, almost)!

Shelley - hope your gumbo was good, I love that stuff

IAD, I swear, you get better looking every day

Hi cyn, a daily pledge is so helpful! I still go to Quit Net every day & renew my pledge to remain smoke free.

Ms Sooty, sorry to hear about your dog. They are such a part of the family....hope you are all OK.

Hi DG, I'm seeing you everywhere today
Hi Chill - seeing you everywhere as well, hope your day was a good one!

Wishing everyone a terrific AF night, be well!

Lav

[ladybirdheart]

AF April ~ 2010

A late check-in for me today. I love all of the thoughtful and reflective posts on this thread. I join the rest of you who don?t have this freedom in the land of ?buck up?. I am so sorry about your doggie, Ms. Sooty, I know you are making your buddy as comfy as possible, I wish I could do the same for dear you. Our love for our pets can be so elemental, it just beams straight out of us.

I am here and sober, a bit sore after three (3) hours of eye testing, but in reasonably good spirits otherwise. No real news except I have another appointment to see if my vision is more stable in three weeks, I can hopefully get glasses or ?glass? in my case but I may need to do it over again if I get the guts:upset: as last time ?glass? wouldn?t work. So far the surgery has just wiped out the vision I still had in my left eye after the first one; in some ways this isn?t so bad as my brain is starting to ignore my eye completely as it can?t see much at any distance. As such I am not getting double vision and dizzy so I should be able to drive next week and the surgeon gave me a ?note? in this regard. I don?t think I will be going very far but I am really tired of being dependent here so wherever I go on my own it will be sweet. Goodnight Dill, Lav, Sped (thank you for the email), Cyn, Rusty, Doggygirl, Red, Chill et. al. Where I am, I am and it is OK. Love Ladybirdmonoclecyclopsheart.

[AMELIA]

AF April ~ 2010

Morning all from the chilly UK!
I have been AF for just over a month now and would like to carry on!!
Wishing you all a very happy Easter Saturday!
May April be a good month for all of us.
Amelia

[Chillgirl]

AF April ~ 2010

Good Morning Amelia! I hope it heats up there soon, im planning to move back to live in UK later this year.

Sooty - Im praying for your dear dog to get better, hope you have a sucessful trip to the vets today and they are able to help

LBH - Wishing you continued recovery - "I am where i am and its ok" will be my new mantra, when you really think about it, where we are is all we have so trying to fight it is like trying to swim upstream against the current..... lets go with the flow

Im a bit unsettled today, one of my friends ordered champagne last night as the group of us hadnt been together for a while, i declined and got a hard time being told that "one glass wouldnt hurt" & "i was being a bad sport!" By midnight the 3 of them where on bottle 4 and i sneaked home..... I have to say it wasnt a fun night and while im totally happy i didnt drink, it left me wondering what kind of social life lies ahead for me..:bigcry:

Anyway, the sun is out! Im hangover free and off for a lovely walk in the country with my dear dog, by the time i check in next I promise to be back to my "uplifted" self......

[Stargazerlily]

AF April ~ 2010

Good morning all. I am so thankful that I am AF. I again had a really intense craving last night. I again realized I was tired, hungry, and it was Friday. Ordered a raspberry tea. Thank goodness. I am so happy today to be AF. Plus, I weighed myself and have lost 7 lbs in two weeks with limited eating. I am telling you, I have to barely eat at all and I am still 20-25 lbs overweight. It is my age, when I was younger it was so much easier. Plus I smoked cigarettes, probably speeding up my metabolism. Anyway, I am grateful, happy, pleased, content to be AF this morning.

LBH, continuing to send healing your way. It is beyond annoying to have surgery that so far has not improved your eyesight. My dad had surgery two years ago on one of his eyes with the same type of results. He is currently fine, sees mostly out of one eye, drives and everything. I helped take care of him after the surgery, and it was tough. My heart goes out to you, but you sound stronger every day and determined to do the best with what you have.:h

Sooty, your little doggy is getting the best of care and is so lucky to have you. Hope the prognosis at the vet is positive.

Chill, I was amazed at being pressured to drink at my last evening out with friends. I understand what you went through. They just do not get it. Would someone force me to eat red meat if I did not want too? Of course not. But alcohol, a different story. I was wondering if I need to make up a story...I don't want to say I have a problem, as it is no one's business and I don't want the questions, etc. So, maybe say that I can no longer drink as I am on a medication, or just say everytime I drink I get violently ill. I have a friend who can only have one drink. Even then she sometimes get a migraine the next day. I wonder if that would work? Just exploring, as sometimes it is so hard for me not to drink in the moment that I need a good reliable excuse. You did fantastic, three months. Chill, you are doing so well, be proud and tell us all the new wonderful advantages in your AF life.:l:goodjob:

Cyn, thanks for sharing your struggle. It helps me to know I am not the only one. If I can just get through Friday I am usually OK.

Today, I am making a white chili and so will not be tempted to go out. I really need to not let myself get too hungry and or tired. It is so interesting to me that the hours of 4 - 7 p.m. are just continuing to be my witching hours. If I can get through them, I am fine. And so grateful.

Will check in later, have a great AF Saturday.

[spuddleduck]

AF April ~ 2010

morning peeps. just why do people put on pressure to drink. i suspect i may have done it in the past, maybe to justify my own drinking. i havent yet ventured into the world of social stuff but i will be armed with excuses, i always have diabetes to use as an excuse, new medication type thing. as you say its funny, its the only thing people try and pressure you into. well done to chill and everyone who has managed the social thing