April Appreciation AF - week 1

[Lavande]

April Appreciation AF - week 1

I feel like an idiot sitting here calculating WW points for a handful of animal crackers but I am trying to be honest with the program :H

YB's jaw will be hitting the floor when he sees me throwing out furniture & other remnants of his reign here - who the feck cares anyway??

Dill, what time is dinner? Sounds good

A dumpster is not a bad idea pamom, hmmm!

The sun is out here today Sooty but not strong enough to do any real good. I'm anxious to get rid of my whiter shade of pale

[Dewdrop]

April Appreciation AF - week 1

Cassia I?m sorry to hear that you are not feeling too well at the moment and hope you get over it soon, all that travelling and interviews etc have taken their toll, try and look after yourself and take it easy. I get the impression you are a ?100 miles an hour? type of person. Your decision to move back to the States sound s so exciting and I?m keeping my fingers crossed for you. What does your husband do, if you don?t mind me asking, I just wondered if he?s able to move jobs too?

Star you sound so confident and focussed these days and it?s good to hear that you are able to deal with life?s dramas clearheaded, good for you. I hope you manage to fight off the bug that?s hovering and feel better soon. Rustop I hope you enjoyed your 70th birthday party, it?s wonderful to enjoy these parties and then wake up sober and enjoy the next day without a hangover. Chill ? what can I say! Your plans sound amazing; the drive home will be an adventure in itself and isn?t it wonderful to have plans and a future to get on with, life is too short to let it pass us by. Thanks for the March summary; you always seem to do it so well.

Rebirth it?s lovely to hear from you again, I wondered where you had gone. Dill AF in New Orleans is quite an achievement and you should be very proud of yourself. Lav I hope the chickens and the grandchildren are all well and the new little bundle arrives soon, that stork took a long time arriving the last time! You too sound like you are at a stage in your life where you are ready to move on and make changes, out with the old and in with the new! Papmom I don?t know where you get all your energy from and I hope the RLS doesn?t affect your sleep too much. And yet another one of our group is feeling the need to embark on a new path, I?ll keep my fingers crossed for you too for the new job and/or a house move. My goodness April is like a new broom sweeping through and it?s just started.

A quick shout out to Dill, Sooty, Jolie, Newgrange, Mario, DSLR and everyone else.

Dewdrop :h

[Jolie]

April Appreciation AF - week 1

Good Saturday evening all!

Sounds like Spring is creeping into everyone's lives here a little - spring cleaning (in whatever form it takes) sounds like its in full swing!

Lav - good for you - if he left it over a year ago, I'd pitch it - his loss! Guess he should have taken it with him

Got an interesting text message from my soon-to-be inlaw this afternoon. Now funny enough, she's the one that actually propelled me into my journey for sobriety! Argument with her over the phone on January 2nd led to my drinking myself into a whopper of a hangover on the 3rd. Decided right then and there that I was done with drunk phone conversations when I really wanted to be sober. I haven't spoken to her since and without going into all the details, her text actually made me laugh as I think she was trying to impress me with her vocabulary. May I just ask who (other than an english teacher) uses the words "we must strive for civility and brinkmanship to help scaffold our children in their marital endeavor"?

Are you f'in kidding me? This is what I have to deal with - but I am dealing with it and dealing with it sober. I haven't replied yet as I have absolutely no idea what to say. Maybe something like "ummmmmm - yea - right, whatever"

Sorry - had to get this off my chest. 3 months ago I would be drunk right now because that's just the way I would have handled it. Today, I actually laughed because it was just so utterly ridiculous.

Have a great evening everyone!

[Lavande]

April Appreciation AF - week 1

Jolie,
Why don't you just text her back.....FECK OFF:H:H

I really have little to no patience for my SIL's parents but for a different reason. They are in their 70's so I figure they won't be around much longer.
My DIL's parents are closer to my age & they live in Cape May so I only see them once or twice/year. We are getting used to each other

I'm throwing a chicken coop cleaning party tomorrow if you want to come over :H
Spring house cleaning will be in full gear

[papmom3]

April Appreciation AF - week 1

Oh my Jolie, me thinks future MIL has been reading way to many english lit books!! I can't beleive that sentence was original-she had to have read it somewhere!! I would reply back with something equally victorian :H

Dew-No energy today!! I think I deflated this week! All I got accomplished was some dishes, laundry and I tackled a big pile of old papers from a couple of years ago. Thanks Lav for the inspiration!!

Dill-I'll be over for dinner!!

Sooty-I can't wait until my arms turn pink! I just hope its really from the sun and not the radiation from Japan!! Really, how is it that MA has that radiation in the air but not CA???? We're as far from Japan as you can get and WE have radiation already? Sorry for the rant-I'm sure its just the media sensationalizing everything as usual. Not much we can do anyway. So back to the pink arms-can't wait :H

Surprisingly I had to urge surf this afternoon, just 6 weeks shy of my one year anni. How the feck is that fair?? I went shopping and got me a....whoopie pie and I'm going to enjoy every single crumb!! Take that Beast!!
Tomorrow is shopping at the new Aldi's that opened yesterday and then heading west for a lobster dinner at my brother's house. Looking forward to the family getting together minus the 2 older nephs.

[Lavande]

April Appreciation AF - week 1

papmom,

Don't worry! I will keep a close eye on you for the next 6 weeks - no way you are going to mess up now lady :H
Having a case of the nerves before an interview is perfectly normal & OK! Let's find a good way to deal with it........you can always come over to my chicken coop cleaning tomorrow - that should be a good distraction

Don't worry about pushing yourself this weekend ~ you don't want to get sick again

[DSLR]

April Appreciation AF - week 1

Chill, yes I am from the UK and will be returning to England somewhere when the house here is sold. I know what you mean about being happy anywhere, sadly now I realise that this is not the case with me. Now I have started to see how unwell/depressed I have been over the past 4-5 years, I can also see that coming here was a form of 'running away' from the over whelming pain and confusion I have been feeling. And now with the wonders of hindsight and starting to come out the other end of the tunnel I can also see that being here is not going to help me address the more serious problems I have with self esteem etc, so a lovely a place as it is, I need to go back to the UK and really get well this time.

Being AF is part of that as I don't know if the way I feel is a symptom of AL abuse or if I drink because of the depression.

So a day ahead of my plan I am starting the 30 days AF today. I know I am in excellent company and thank you all for the support you have given me already to help me get to this point and for the support and guidance in the future.

Thanks for your comments papmom3, I am grateful for the opportunity drawing on your experiences and success.

Wishing everyone a lovely AF Sunday and to all the Mum's in the UK, Happy Mother's Day!:h

[Chillgirl]

April Appreciation AF - week 1

Good morning my dear friends
It's mothers day in the UK today so sending love to all you Mummy's out there :l

Jolie :H this is absolutely hysterical!

Jolie;1090137 wrote: "we must strive for civility and brinkmanship to help scaffold our children in their marital endeavor"?

She is obviously trying to be ultra superior, don't rise to the bait.

Papmom - im jealous about the lobster! I haven't had lobster in such a long time. And I'm with Lav, if we have to bind and gag you for the next 6 weeks we will get you there

DSLR - Maybe you had to make the move to get the clarity in your mind? Our biggest problems are actually seeing what our problems really are and if you now know them you at least have something to work on.

A grey untypical morning here, I'm planning a long dog walk with some inspiring speaker on my iPod. Tonight McLibra is taking me for dinner, he is sad to hear I'm moving away but being his typical kind self is thinking of any ways to help me.

[Stargazerlily]

April Appreciation AF - week 1

Good morning all...

Chill, thanks for taking the time and sharing your journey. You are in a different place now, clearheaded and strong, physically and emotionally. You want to be in the middle of things, working, taking classes, meeting new people, making a new life. Leaving your husband behind is a huge decision too. I like that you will be around your family. I just feel that it is so important, if possible, to keep those family ties strong and active. I loved your description of the Tony Robbins lecture about pain and hurt. Going AF was the beginning of your healing journey. Sending you positive energy and love.:l

Jolie, that text message is silly, but I hear that the underlying message is she wants to get along. I think it would be a mistake to answer rudely. You are in a good place right now and can affort to be generous, plus it is important to get along with inlaws for so many reasons. Some people just lack social skills and need gentle, kind assistance in how to be in relationships. You have your work cut out for you.

Lav, good to hear to are beginning to think of a life without YB and symbolically removing his things, since he refuses to take care of his responsibilities. It is interesting, isn't it, the decisions we make when we are young? I think of my reasoning in my relationship with my husband, also wanting to change and reform him. What was I thinking? It's been a rough ride, I can tell you that. If I could go back to being young and looking for a person to spend my life with, I would have a totally different view of what is important. But also, some of it is just luck. We have worked on so many things together, and some things are just never going to be resolved. We both have to accept that. We are both in the midst of a life review.

Papmom, good luck on your interview. It will be interesting to see what happens. I agree that filling that craving with a whoopie pie, just this once, is an ok way to deal with it. I do not know why the cravings hit out of the blue sometimes, but they just do. Our thinking at this point can really help us through.

DSLR, I also thought I was depressed, but realized that alcohol is a depresssant, and my natural state is not depressed. That is not the case for everyone, but really, you have to get AF first to figure it out. AF is step one to figuring everything out.

I had a busy day yesterday, lots of friend time, all AF and it was fun. I felt tired, but figured it was due to the bug I'm battling. I am much better now, will get my running around done early, then focus on sitting down stuff in the afternoon, after a short nap. I really need to eat better and find time to exercise, daily. I am a little run down. It is hard on the weekends, I want to socialize, but in a really limited way, as I need down time and time to do household stuff. Balance, Balance.

To all, a great day, lots of energy and focus, AF.

[papmom3]

April Appreciation AF - week 1

Good morning everyone!!

Star-you are one of the most generous, kindest souls I have ever had the pleasure of knowing! Of course Jolie must treat her MIL with kindness, sympathy and understanding. Of course it can't be tit for tat and Jolie must be the bigger person here. What were we thinking? I learn so much from you and everyone else here and am so grateful to apply what I learn to my own life!! :h

Chill-I have a feeling McLibra is going to turn out to be a very dear long distance friend and I don't think leaving Portugual means seeing the last of him unless you want it too. I'm so glad he's still around and anxious to help you make the move. I know you can do it all yourself but wha luxory to have some genuine help whatever form it takes!!

DSLR-Congratulations on starting your journey today!! I sure hope that as you peel your onion you find that the AL was making you depressed and not vice versa but whatever you learn, not drinking will make everything so much easier to deal with!! Lean on us all you need, make the Toolbox thread your best friend and don't forget that chat is open 24/7 and is real time conversations. Chat saved me a couple of times in the beginning!!

OK, brekkie then off to Aldi's!! It just a silly little store but the newness makes it so exciting!! Then off to lobsterpalooza!! Chill-I'll ask my dad to pick up an extra just for you!! One day you'll have to come over to New England and I'll take you up to Maine for an authentic Lobster/Clam bake!!

[Chillgirl]

April Appreciation AF - week 1

papmom3;1090434 wrote:
Chill-I'll ask my dad to pick up an extra just for you!! One day you'll have to come over to New England and I'll take you up to Maine for an authentic Lobster/Clam bake!!

Im going to hold you to that! Once I get my new life established Im going to definitly do what I love best and thats travel. I have so many plans and cant wait to get started

[Lavande]

April Appreciation AF - week 1

Good morning April friends!

Yawn, my granddog kept me awake last night! Why does a Corgi prowl the house all night & bark at everything???

Oh well! The sun is out & I'm looking forward to chicken housework :H

Papmom - I'll trade you a chicken for a lobster :H

Have a great day everyone!
Lav

[rustop61]

April Appreciation AF - week 1

Hi everyone

Just a quick check in. Happy Mother's Day to all Moms in Europe. Enjoy being spoiled for the day.

Rustop

[Jolie]

April Appreciation AF - week 1

Good morning everyone!

Thank you one and all for your insight into how to deal with my future in-law. I can rant and rave all I want (and call her all sorts of mean things) in the comfort of my own home but I know in the end, I will go along with her suggestion of civility (for my son's sake). I will, however, make my opinion known that in the future, any correspondence with each other, whether it be email or face-to-face, should be spoken with sincerity and without the use of words that neither one of us would really use in a face to face conversation. Forgiveness was the theme of the sermon today in church so I am trying to embrace it.

Lav - chicken coop cleaning is probably as theraputic for you as poop scooping is for me so I think I'll head out to the dog kennel today for a little bit of that

Papmom - wish you could read the whole email as it was filled with much of the same as the small sampling I included earlier. Still just shaking my head:egad: and wondering what the heck she was thinking. Enjoy your lobster dinner today.

Star - as always - you keep us all grounded here. What I'd like to say to her and what I will say are two completely different things. I won't bring myself down just to get back at her for her pompous attitude.

Looks like a lot of you will be celebrating mothers day today! To any that are, happy mothers day! Hope you all know how special you - wish you a happy day!

Chill - enjoy your dog walk and it's nice to hear you have such a good, caring friend.

DSLR - good for you on starting your journey a day early! You won't be disappointed - we are all here for you and it sounds like you have really thought through this decision - sometimes a new beginning somewhere else is just the thing we need!

Mornin Rustop and anyone else who decides to check in today.

Make it a great day everyone!

[Chillgirl]

April Appreciation AF - week 1

Jolie CONGRATULATIONS on being 3 months AF today! :kudos: