Hi all

[Lou]

Well i thought i would be a bit cheeky and start of today!!
I want to talk about friendships that I and im sure others have made on this site. I feel honoured to have met such a lovely, understanding and caring group of individuals from all walks of life, I went AWOL for a while and upon my return was welcomed back with no questions asked. I feel privaledged to know and be accepted by such a great bunch of people.
So my thought for the day is friendships and how precious they are

Loves

Lou-Lou x x x

[gabby]

Hi all

Your a sweetie Lou. I'm glad you my buddie. I remember when we first started talking. Glad your still here. : )
I love all the friendships I have here as well. In fact I cherish you all.
Big hugs, there is no way I could address each of you. Have a great Sunday.

[Lou]

Hi all

Love you Gabbs x x

[YoungAtHeart]

Hi all

I, too, feel very fortunate to have found this site and to have made the friends I have made here. I can't imagine being without all the wonderful support that I get here each and every day. It is an essential part of my remaining sober. I don't think I could do it without all of you! While I have other friendships off the site, I really appreciate the consistency of being able to come here each and every day.

I just wanted to share that Maddy's high school band took 1st place in the Chapter Championships last night!:yay: :happy: The show is just awesome. Maddy told me on the drive home that it was bittersweet for her. She doesn't regret having quit on the whole, but it was a little hard for her not being part of the winning season. Next weekend is the ACC's, and the band will very likely place in the top 10, which will be a great honor. It was very exciting and very cold!

At any rate, I've got a busy day planned today, and then I will veg out and watch some football later.

Everyone else have a great day!

Hugs,
Kathy:l

[Mackeral]

Hi all

Hiya Dudes,

Good start Lou.....I feel very lucky to have such good and understanding friends on here also..
My brother went home this morning so i'm a bit sad:upset:

Plus my car has broken down in a nearby village this morning so i'm rushing round like an idiot trying to get it fixed before tonight.....Its bonfire night here in England and i promised i'd take the kids out tonight to watch a firework display...

And nowhere is open on a Sunday for car parts...AHHHHHH

[southernbelle47]

Hi all

Good morning Friends!
Thanks for getting us going Lou, Gabbs, Kathy and Macks!
It is good to be able to come here and be open about our struggles. I don't know of a group anywhere else that has what we have here. When one of us is in pain, I think we all "feel" it with them. I know I do. We are all God's children and He feels our pain also.

We're planning on a walk about our favorite garden spot this afternoon. Gonna check on when our Satsuma oranges will be ripe! Yum! We have two trees with about 1/2 dozen on each! I was told to take all the fruit off the first year but I just could'nt.

I hope you all have a restfull Sunday!

Blessings to all who come here. Post or no!
Nancy:l

[Newyear]

Hi all

Morning Lou and Kathy and Gabby and Macks...and those about to post..

Nice topic Lou - thanks. I think friendships are what keep me going! Even in a marriage or with parents or siblings - the friendship part of those relationships makes the difference between a good relationship and a great relationship. I am grateful for my friends - new and old.
I have a friend going thru some big changes right now and she called me having a panic attack- she was crying and upset and hyperventilating. I talked to her until she could tell me what she was upset about - we talked thru it and after about 15 mins she was even laughing. It made me feel so great when she said 'I'm so glad I called you - I knew you would make me feel better'. Made me feel so good and I know she would do the same for me-- friendships are priceless.
I have to tell one more friend story. My friend, whom I've known since I was 14, called me halloween night laughing and saying 'guess what?? I saw two kids dressed up like riff raff and magenta!!" And then we both burst out laughing. When we were kids we went to the midnight movie every..and I mean every..Sat night to see the Rocky Horror Picture Show. I think I counted 20 times that we went. We had a ball going - dressing up sometimes- singing and yelling at the screen. It was innocent but we felt pretty grown up that we were going to a midnight movie. ANyway...just can't buy memories like that!
Ok...no more stories from me.

Have a great Sunday everyone. I'm going to a matinee to see a play today - Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. Should be fun. I love going to the theater!

day 8 - right janet?

Lisa

[Kris8086]

Hi all

Good morning all.

First, my thanks to Lisa for the kind words last night - sounds like you have been a good support for quite a few people this week. I understand that the first week is the hardest but I am determined to be AF in Nov (and beyond). In answer to your question I live in upstate NY in the US (near Niagara Falls). Nov is a cold dreary month here but we often escape to visit a daughter in California. I am retired and have 4 very yound grandchildren, two here and two in CA. We spend a lot of time flying back and forth.

I am devoting today to a pottery project, I have a studio in the house and need to get ready for Christmas. We will have the grandchildren here a lot this week so I need to get things done today. Hope everyone has a happy and successful Sunday.

[vinophile]

Hi all

That's right Lisa!!!Day 8!!!My biggest hurdle of the week is Sat night and I did stay strong.You know what.....it wasn't bad!!! I was handed a glas of wine by a friend whan I walked in the door and I even walked around with it in my hand before leaving it on a table. I could have refused it but took the spineless way out and just put in down in the kitchen after a few minutes. No one even noticed that I wasn't drinking. My husband didn't even realize that I didn't drink until this morning.
One thing that did bother me though was that the teenage kids were drinking as well. I noticed much more as I was sober (and there was a lot of liquor) but the 16-17 year olds were bringing the alcohol into the basement.These kids then proceeded to get into several different cars and drive away and....THE PARENTS KNEW!!!! Then the mother said that kids are going to drink anyway so they might as well be safe and do it at her house. Nice idea I know..... but then they got into their separate cars to drive around town for 2 hours...roads that are narrow and winding. I know my oldest son (19years) drinks but I have tried to impress upon him the importance of not drinking when you drive. Am I sticking my head in the sand by thinking it's wrong to serve young drivers alcohol and then setting them free on the roads? The hosts gave a lovely party but I lost a great deal of respect for them both last night.
Enough of my rant!!!!
Macks, I hope you find your car parts.For me, there is nothing worse than having my car break down,especially with all those kids wanting to go to a bonfire tonight.Good luck!!!
Lisa , I hope day 8 feels as good for you as it does for me. My only problem was that I drank coffee last night and my brain was racing all night. 2AM and I would have vacuumed the whole house if everyone had not been sleeping.
Enjoy watching your football game Kathy! I wish I liked football better. I really don't understand it unfortunately.
Gabby,you're cheery as ever !!!!Do you ever get in a bad mood?
Nancy,I'm so jealous!!!Your orange trees are ripe??? I looked outside this morning and saw all that was left of my garden(parsley) was frozen solid.
Lou,it's wonderful to see that you were our first poster this morning. I look foward to seeing you tomorrow morning.
Have a great day!!
Janet

[gabby]

Hi all

Janet....thats a crack up. Of course I have bad moods. You have just missed em. :upset: And this one too.
Ask a few of the others around here. Mack will tell ya...hee hee.

[helen mary]

Hi all

Vinophile - THAT IS DREADFUL ABOUT THE TEENAGERS DRINKING AND DRIVING- I know my neice drinks far too much for her age (she is about to be 15) and her parents allow it! My eldest is 14 and wants to try the stuff they sell for teenagers but I won't allow it. You are right to be enraged about the party with the parents willfully allowing the kids to drink and drive - what if they killed someone? (sorry, ranting but I feel really strongly about it).

[lushy]

Hi all

Janet I just had to poke my head in and say it makes me physically ill to hear stories like that. That is such irresponsible parenting. If you are going to go the route of letting them drink at home (which I think is a stupid thing to begin with), fine. But there is absolutely no driving allowed. My Lord. I would have lost all respect too. Thank God there were no horror stories that came out of it all this morning. BTW, very impressive having a glass of wine in your hand and being able to put it down!!!!

[wwbarb]

Hi all

Hi all - well, it's 1:30 on a Sunday afternoon and I'm not drinking - does that qualify me for absville? Just wanted to visit and say hi. The Breast Cancer 3 Day is in Phoenix, and I am going down to the closing ceremonies with a friend. Much more productive than going to the pub and drinking while watching football. I lost a dear friend to breast cancer earlier this year and several folks I know are doing the walk so I thought I'd go down and show my support.

No time for personals but I wanted you all to know I am lurking and thinking of all of you. I've started topa so soon I'll be be ready for another 30 day (at least) ab stint before moderation or total abs. Right now, I'm doing the one day at a time thing.

Take care all.

Hugs,

Barb
Hugs,

[Hawk]

Hi all

Hi everyone -

Sounds like a relatively relaxing day all around (except for Mack's vehicle problems). We had my husband's grandchildren this weekend and man - were they BRATS. How I did not beat the cr#p out of the 4 year old I have no idea. She is SOOO bold. I never behaved so badly at my Nana's house because she would have slapped me into next week -- and then told my mother - who would have just about murdered me. So many kids today have not enough or no discipline.

My husband went to take them home (about an hour drive each way) and assumed I wasn't going. I didn't feel like it but I was afraid to stay home because I knew for sure I'd have wine during the two hours he was out. Then he's get home, I would have been in the wine, he'd still be exhausted and angry and it would make for a very bad evening. But I gotta tell ya -- man -- did I want wine!!!! However, cooler heads prevailed. We are both home now and enjoying the solitude!

Sorry for the rant but its all I got right now.uch:

[Newyear]

Hi all

Congrats on the wine free eveing Janet...now we can look forward to af 9!
Your rant was well deserved however- that is super dangerous stuff your friends are doing. For one it's illegal...and for another if any of those kids hurt themseleves or somone else - the parents could be held responsible. I would have lost some respect too. They really need to be careful....scary.

Hawk---Good for you for going with your husband! I bet you really wanted to stay home too!
Kris- My sister used to live in buffalo and when I visited her we drove up to Niagra falls. I was not expecting much - I thought ok, so it's a big waterfall- but I was completely blown away by the incredible beauty of the falls and the whole area around it. And wow...the noise! I'm sure you don't go visit the falls every day. but I just thought it was incredible. Good to hear how determined you are about this too -- did you make a ceramic santa today?
Hi Barb - good to hear from you.
Macks!!...Did you find the parts you needed?
Nancy- Hope you had a nice walk in your garden and a wonderful relaxing day. I went to a play today at teh Fox and it was Soooo good. Some of the parts were played by the original people who played them on Broadway. It was really excellent.
Kathy...did you have a good day? Did you and your sis get the furniture moved?

Thanks for everyone here today - sure helps keeping to this abs plan with all of you here.
Have a great night everyone-
Lisa