January Jewels - week one 2012!

[papmom3]

January Jewels - week one 2012!

Had my md appt. No waiting and the PA was really good. I am just so impressed with this medical group I can't say it enough!! Good news is that it's not bronchitis and it's not bacterial. Bad news is that I've just got to wait it out. He gave me a note saying I have to stay home until Sunday so I get another day or 2 to rest. I also got a new Rx for my nebulizer meds (thanks Lav!) and I have to take it 4x/day. A pain but it really opens up the airways and makes it much easier to cough up the crap.
I'm now back in bed all snuggled up with the boys. It's cold and there are flurries flying around. I'm glad I'm back inside! Hope the weather improves for our UK friends too!

[Chillgirl]

January Jewels - week one 2012!

Evening gemsters

Rebellions, fitting in and being different, there definitely is a common theme going on here. Isnt it wonderful that we all somehow came together on this thread!
It does make you wonder if outside forces have a hand in it. And beautiful that we all share the mutual feeling that finally there is somewhere we CAN fit in.
Im not taking no for an answer, our March name is definitely going to be "misfits" :H

Star - I meant to say I loved your idea of Cornwall! I have never been but have heard it is devine and has its own mircoclimate. Not sure how it would be finding a job as its pretty rural. I am warming to the idea of putting my furniture in storage, jumping in the car and taking off wherever the wind blows. Could really do with Papmoms camper

I hope im not joining the sick but I woke up this morning with a humming in my left ear. I dont think I have ever mentioned it before but i was born totally deaf in my right ear so I rely totally on my left and have grown to use it to the maximum. Im therefore very sensitive if anything ever goes wrong with it and everything today sounded like it does when you have water in your ears.

Anyway my unexpected early rise this morning is catching up with me and im heading off to bed......

[papmom3]

January Jewels - week one 2012!

Chill if I could ship the Paphut over to you you know I would!! I wish visa's weren't so hard to get over here-you would LOVE New England!! The job situation in my state is supposed to be pretty good compared to other states but you know how the numbers people are-its always a rosy pic!!
Hope you're not coming down with anything. Do heating pads still work for blocked ears or maybe a decongestent?

[Cassia]

January Jewels - week one 2012!

Evening all - figured I would drop you a note before I leave work.

Dew - I am so sorry to hear about your DIL. I really hope that she gets the help she needs and that you and the family can move forward. I will keep you all in my thoughts and prayers *big hugs*

P3 - Aww babes - hope you feel better soon! Sounds like a virus if they didn't give you antibiotics.

Lav ? I am glad that things are more enjoyable with YB but you are right to take it cautiously and not expect too much ? that way you can?t be disappointed.

LBH ? I am so excited to see Midnight in Paris ? I have heard nothing but good things about it.

Sped ? thanks for checking in! Sounds like you are having a great time in the Midwest but don?t you miss the warmth of New Mexico? How are you feeling about the drink now? You still tempted?

Chill ? how is your weather? how?s the decision making coming along?

Cyn ? is it still has cold in CT ? we were freezing down here. It got down to 16F but felt like 2F. I can only imagine how the wind chill felt further north.

SD ? I hope your trip to the hospital went ok and please let us know the results ? I am sure it is nothing too serious. *hugs*

Star ? sounds like you are making progress with the healthy lifestyle. I was doing so well and then fell badly today ? I had some cookies. So much temptation in the office though!

Hiya and big hugs to everyone I missed!!!

Thanks so much for all your thoughts and assuring me I am not crazy. It is so refreshing to hear that so many of you also had the same ambition and drive at my age and that it wasn?t a hindrance or anything untoward and you did eventually settle. I am not surrounded by many ambitious people including my husband. Bless, I love him but he has no initiative about him and it can be terribly frustrating at time. But that?s just who he is ? he is happy to support me to satisfy my own ambitions and I am happy that he is enjoys his life and does the things that are important to him. I think you are right ? when I am ready to change or slow down a bit I will. And I also totally agree that I will have no time once I start a family and I know if I didn?t achieve everything I wanted to before I started a family that I would end up resenting them and I don?t want that.

Now as far as what brought us to the drink originally ? I didn?t start drinking until I was 18 and legally could in Scotland. In fact, my mates bought me a half bottle of vodka for my 18th and I ended up giving it away. Then I tried it a few more times with my friends, discovered that you could add mixers to spirits and that was me. I never consciously did it to fit in and even though my dad had problems with alcohol I didn?t avoid drink in the beginning because of that. It just kinda happened upon me. And I was invincible ? never had hangovers. It was awesome ? could drink six nights a week and go out clubbing ? no problem. My drinking actually died down over the course of my drinking days. It went from six nights to three/four nights to just at the weekends to once a week. See, I could never drink with a hangover and then I had my responsibilities. I just couldn?t handle it anymore and I changed when I drank. So I quit at the tender age of 30. Lasted a whole 12 years ? maybe I didn?t have a proper go. I?ll tell ya ? how many drinkers you know who actually slow down throughout their career instead of speed up!!! LOL!

So tomorrow is a rough day for me. It will be 25 years since my mom died. I can hardly believe it. It is super weird being back in America not far from where she died and being older then she was when she died. Is it wrong that I am a wee bit nervous to get into my car tonight? I think about her nearly every day still and miss her. Although, I think she does more for me now where she is then she could have done here. In a way its like she never existed. Anyway, I don?t talk about her often but if I don?t check in tomorrow don?t fret ? I have no attention of drinking. I will just be keeping myself to myself.

Love you all very much and thanks for letting me share.

[Lavande]

January Jewels - week one 2012!

Cassia,
YB has disappointed all he possibly can, at least in this lifetime....I'm done with that nonsense. I figure if he wants to perk up & get his act together, fine. If he wants to remain in grumpy old man crazy land, that's fine too
The 25 anniversary of my Mom's passing was in September - I know how hard it is fathom so much time has passed. I am nearing the age she was when she passed

Papmom, take advantage of your official time off & drown that virus with lots of fluids

Chill, decongestants for blocked ears ~ that what I use. If worse comes to worse you can have someone flush out your ear.

Dewdrop, your tea blend sounds like something expensive on the Starbuck's menu :H
Isn't it great getting to the point in your life where you can do, think & practically say just about anything & get away with it? :H :H

I think it's a wonderful thing being a misfit - fits me perfectly!!!!

[papmom3]

January Jewels - week one 2012!

Cass and Lav-:l:l:l on the passing of your Moms.

Cass-you just keep ambitioning-you're still young and have lots of life to experience yet. I love that your hubby and you are so different but yet seem so sympatico.

Lav-you just keep on keeping on with your Lavintude-it looks so good on you!

I am really going to try to get some real work done tomorrow if my stomach and the coughing will let me. Hopefully I'll get a full nite's sleep. Last nite I went to bed around 10, woke up at 12:30 and replied to some work emails and tried to do some work. Finally fell back asleep around 3 and slept until 8. Dogs didn't even wake me up LOL!! I'm so behind right now but I won't panic yet (until tomorrow when I see the number of files in my folder waiting for me!!).

[cyntree]

January Jewels - week one 2012!

Hello jewels - long day for me, and no time to check in until now. It's so interesting how these ideas we are talking about have been floating around my head...

Dew, P3, and Chill - feel better soon!

Cassia - thanks for writing about the emotions surrounding the anniversary of your mother's passing -- I'll be thinking of you tomorrow.

RE: weather up here; the night before last when it was 4 degrees, the kitchen door (honestly) blew open at some point in the night. In the morning I walked into a freezing kitchen, reached for the dogs' water dish and found it solidly frozen, and finally saw the curtain over the door billowing in the breeze! Aaaargh, $$$$ out the door to heat all of NW CT. It was supposed to be warmer today, but felt pretty sharp with all the wind...but I'd still rather be here than in the desert.

About being different and starting over, et al; I think that's why I was so moved by those song lyrics...there is such richness in doing only what can be done, and in celebrating the beauty that comes from not fitting in...

'Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack in everything
That's how the light gets in.'

Good night/morning all -

[ladybirdheart]

January Jewels - week one 2012!

Cyn, thank you so much for the poetry/lyrics from Leonard Cohen. They distill this time for me very well. Goodnight all from here, good to have a sober sleep to look forward to, a dream that comes through a crack in the dark. Stay warm and safe, get well soon if you are not now already. Love, Ladybird.

[Chillgirl]

January Jewels - week one 2012!

Good morning guys

Cass - I hope today isn't too difficult for you, do whatever feels comfortable :l

Lav - I have always embraced being different in fact looking back I made a point of it. Papmom mentioned how we are expected to behave coming from a good wasp family. As a teenager I always wanted to bring home a black gay catholic man :H but I never found one!

Cyn - frozen water bowls inside! Wow, that's cold!

I was listening to a great interview on the radio yesterday talking about the next generation coming up, the graduates that will never find work and the horrendous debt they will inherit because of the greed from our generation. What a state our world is in, it got me thinking that I need to let go of what I imagined my life would be as we never win when we argue with what is. We all grew up expecting to own homes and put money aside for retirement where as this next generation are going to have to think very differently to survive. There is definitely a vast increase in the speed of change on the planet, in the extreme weather, the Arab Spring, the Euro crisis, natural disasters and ordinary lives being turned upside down. I wonder if there is any credence to the affect of the cosmic aligning of the planets later this year? Could 2012 really be a turning point in our survival?

Friday! And my dear Starty arrives tomorrow morning..... Yippee

[dill]

January Jewels - week one 2012!

All changes, even the most longed for, have their melancholy; for what we leave behind us is a part of ourselves; we must die to one life before we can enter another.
Anatole France

Hello Jewells,
LBH, I am putting Midnight in Paris in my Netflx queue. Beilieve it or not, I have never seen it!
Chill, I have seen Before Sunset and liked it very much. I have it in my DVD library. And I wonder if there isn't something to what you say about the speed of the changes and the predictions of the Mayans. Eckhart T.'s concept of the "awakening" and "consciousness", how does it fit in with it all? I have no answers. Only questions at this point. I think I may review The New Earth soon.
Cyn, I really enjoyed the link to the Margaret Roach website and have saved it to my favorites. And thank you for the Leonard Cohen lyrics. They are perfect for our times.
SD, let us know how your bloodwork turns out. I just had mine done the other day and will get results next week. I don't expect any problems as mine was "routine".
Papmom, it sounds like you are gradually returning to health. Keep up the steady progress.
Sooty, I hope your "filthy" weather has improved. Is Wales like Ohio? If you don't like the weather at any given moment, just wait a few. It's quite changeable!
Cass, 25 years. Thinking of you.
Lav,
Star, you always remind me and keep me on track about healthy habits. I am going to get focused on that. It's not enough to quit alc alone, is it? Especially when you find yourself craving sweets because of it!!! I have got to get the Chocolate out of the house!!!!
Rusty, I want to add my congrats re: your weight loss. Awesome!!! Do you still trave a lot for you job? If so, that makes it even more impressive.
Dew: About what you said:

Yet once you make the decision to change it can happen in an instant it’s all about attitude

Amen.

[Stargazerlily]

January Jewels - week one 2012!

Good morning to all...

Cassia, I will be thinking of your today. With grief, you feel what your feel and just go through it. I found that crying helps me, in private, and lets me release my feelings. My husband and I are also different, yet accept each others differences. Even, sometimes, celebrate them. Other times they can be annoying. Such is life. For me, I raised my kids, worked part time and attended school. It was not either or, but a blend of interests and work. There are so many ways to do things, and no one way is right, but it has to be right for you.

To all feeling ill, sending you healthy healing energy.

Weatherwise, it is unseasonably warm again, and I am loving it.

Chill, I think that every generation faces challenges. I remember being horrified by the Vietnam War, racism, sexism, etc. This generation will have to make choices, like we did. The retirement thing is simply frightening, no pensions anymore, we will have to work forever. I also agree with you on how everything continues to change at such a fast pace. Whew, better to live AF, no matter what.

LBH, it is lovely to look forward to a sober sleep and fresh awakening, there is nothing better.

I hope to go to a fire and ice festival this afternoon/evening. It is free and it will be fun to walk around and see the art, as it truly is art. I am struggling with starting to exercise, I do not know what my problem is...

Have a great Friday.

[cyntree]

January Jewels - week one 2012!

Good morning, Star, Dill, Chill and all to come. Dill - the A France quote took my breath away, so true. Chill, I keep inching my way toward needing less and less, but it requires such vigilance...

I hope all you who are struggling with health are healing today -- Cass, sending you extra strength - wishing everyone an easy AF day.

[Rusty]

January Jewels - week one 2012!

Good Morning and TGIF AF Friends!:h

Dill, it is such a joy to see your avatar (what kind of flower is that?) and to see your quote start us off for the day. I have never heard of Anatole France but I will google as soon as I get off our thread (In about 3 hours!:H) Absolutely, change is going to make us uncomfortable, and we do kind of have to "die" to one life before we enter another. I certainly know my drinking life had to die. I wholeheartedly agree with you about the definition of what and what is not a relapse.. An incident of drinking after months/years of sobriety does not constitute a relapse if a person jumps right back on the AF wagon. Relapse to me is the return to the old habits and mindsets of drinking that clearly have a negative impact on that person and all around them. Thank you for the congrats on my weight loss. I thought when I quit drinking the weight would simply fall off.ops!: Obviously, that DID NOT happen.

Cassia-thinking of you today on the 25th anniversary of your Mom's passing.:l I know she's smiling on you and VERY proud of your achievements and the admirable way you have conducted your business and personal life. She would marvel at your zest and yearning for more education, your energy, and the ability to set a goal and then make the sacrifices to get there. Hey look, I was 37 years old when I decided to go to law school. Then I got accepted and I didn't go.:H I've never regretted my decision, though. Follow your gut instincts and you will be just fine.

Dew-you've been in my thoughts and hope that you are healing. How are your son and DIL doing? I'm sure they feel lucky to have you close by.

Shelley-I am glad you are enjoying being in Indiana. Will you be able to see your friends in Chicago?

Papmom-I sure hope you're feeling better and so glad you got the doctor's note so you could stay at home and recuperate. I know your pups were happy, too!

Lav-wow, I am amazed that YB seems to be changing his ways. I know you're not holding your breath, but am enjoying the moment....in the present.

Cyn-I loved loved loved the lyrics of that song? Who is the composer?

Chill-you have a great time with Starty! Also, I echo what Papmom said about returning to Portugal as far as you not knowing the language. That was a huge stumbling block when it came to looking for work. Someone here said you would be a great counselor/therapist....I couldn't agree more.

Star-have fun at the fire and ice festival. Sounds so fun....especially for a Friday night when a few of us are looking for interesting things to do.

SD-hey, no Packer game this weekend. Oh hell, what are we gonna do on Sunday? Wanna get together?

LBH-I'm reaching out to you as I need help from you, our thread's linguist....as to assembling the correct words to express why I love this thread so much, and why I think this thread is so unique. I think one of the reasons I really love this thread is that not only do we all share the common denominator of wanting to be AF, but we all use our innate intelligence, our education, life experiences, and our spirituality to not only delve into the root cause of why we drink/drank, but also to offer viable suggestions and solutions when we face challenges/crises in every day life. Superficiality simply does not exist on this thread. Maybe that's it. I've never been a superficial person. I detest small talk. We INVEST time on this thread. We INVEST time in each other, and I know I've reaped the benefits: intellectually and spiritually.

To all my friends here I didn't name....Rustop, Sooty....who am I missing...have a fabulous AF Friday!!!

[Lavande]

January Jewels - week one 2012!

Good morning Jewels

Well, once again everything I was going to say has already been said :H :H

I am grateful for each & everyone one of you! As Rusty mentioned, you each bring a very special quality to this thread. I learn something new here every day from all of you :l

I downloaded a book on my Kindle last night called 'Wabi Sabi Love' The Ancient Art of Finding Perfect Love in an Imperfect Relationship by Arielle Ford.
Interesting that Cohen's quote was right there in the first few pages

OK, off to Curves before I lose momentum.......
Have a fab AF Friday everyone.

Lav

[spedteach]

January Jewels - week one 2012!

Morning folks,
So much to respond to. Am grateful to have all of you here for me.

45 degrees this morning in Indiana. 20 degrees colder in NM. Hey guys, am starting to wonder about these midwest winters!!

Cyn, loved the poem/song lyrics. And Dill, the quote.

About being a misfit/different. Don't you think everyone feels that way?
I mean who can really understand how another person feels, hence uniqueness?
Don't even want to go there this early in the morning.

I am cat sitting for my son, who in the sweetness of his heart, adopted two 6 to 8 year old cats within the past month. Need I say they are set in their ways. One sits in the bathroom sink all day and hasn't eaten yet (6 days). The other eats everything in sight. Any suggestions, pet lovers. Maybe just a matter of getting used to being here as opposed to the pound.

Pap, special shout out to you. Take care. Being sick sucks (forgive).