Magical March Madness - Week 3

[BlondeAFAmbition]

Magical March Madness - Week 3

Hey Gang!

Jolie, ditto on the wet dog smell. How about wet dog tinged with tomato juice after a romp with a skunk????????? Ewwwwwwww!!! Been there, done that!

9 Months SD!!! You just gave birth to a whole new life! You go girl! Light the way!

Tomorrow is 30 days for this blonde chickie! AlmostFamous too! It's been great sharing the journey of same days together, partner!

Glad to have my days off today and tomorrow. Weather is SWEEEEETTTTT! Sunny and mild...very mild. Can we say, walk on the beach? YUP!

Off to the gym later today but wanted to catch up on here since I haven't in a few days. Thinking of you all though. Have been reading the Jason Vale book every night (read it once through and now picking out special excerpts as I go). Really can't say enough positive things about this book. What a life changer for me!

Alrighty, off to do some housework, have some breakfast and another cuppa joe. Blessings to all checking in here today! Make it a wonderful day, there will be no other like it!

PEACE!

[BlondeAFAmbition]

Magical March Madness - Week 3

Star, ditto on the Vale book...I have been using some of his techniques daily and it is really making a world of difference. I am so grateful to have read the book last week before St. Patty's Day, because I knew that particular day would be a struggle. And I will not lie and say that I had urges to drink last Saturday. All the stars were aligned to make the "old" me drink (afternoon off, great Spring weather, hubby was partaking...he's very Irish and uses it as an excuse to drink, had let myself get too hungry, started having euphoric recall...etc, etc,) BUT, I kept asking myself what good would a drink really do? I mean, I am already having a beautiful afternoon on the beach with my beloved dog and husband...what good would adding AL to dull my senses do? How would I feel in the morning? Or even at 3AM with anxiety, guilty and shame? No, I do not want to go there. I never want to go there. Instead, I turned my thoughts into the positives of "wow, I am so lucky that I don't have to drink anymore...I am free from AL. I will celebrate that!" So, instead of feeling remorseful, I felt grateful and joyful for not "having" to drink, as the old me would have felt deprived. I am not depriving myself, I'm rewarding myself!

Have a lovely day to all!

[cyntree]

Magical March Madness - Week 3

Hello, magicals!

Goodness, what a week of posts - so great to read everyone's thoughts. This does indeed seem like a 'spring' has been added to our worlds.

Hello Sunshine - good to see you here. I agree, (Dill and Star too) the change of seasons can be a trigger. After 1 year + I suddenly had a craving last weekend, really wierd. I finally figured out that I have a lot of experience now releasing a craving that comes because of hardship, but I need to practice letting go of a 'celebrate' craving. For some reason I was in high spirits (sadly, a rather rare occurance for me) and the thought came - 'why not have a drink to celebrate'! Huh? Whaaa? So I had something to eat and breathed through it, and later it occurred to me that it had just disappeared. Whew. Wishing you the same, and congrats on your accumulated days.

G-bloke, what a pleasure to read your posts. Thanks for the beautiful words.

Jolie - so glad to see you.

Dill - what great stuff. I might have to steal the 'I prefer clarity'...what an elegant phrase that is. What book were you reading that had that in it?

SD - Fantastic news of your 9 months!!!! Just great, and the extra victory of an AF vacation. You sound so clear and strong.

Bulbs are bursting into song every day here. You cannot know what it means to this transplanted desert-dweller to see such a life force at work.

Here's a question for you pond folk: there is a tiny pond on the back patio here. One day I heard a distinctive 'plop', and thought 'there's something in there'. Turns out a tadpole was wending his way into frog-dom. Now he is all grown up and starting to sun himself on the rocks. I'm worried because the dogs are out there a lot, and I would prefer that they not catch him. (DROP IT, DROP IIIIITTTT!). Also, I have not turned the pump on, so the water is stagnant, I don't know where he'll get food, and I know that he can hear his community at night screeching just down the hill from our house, in the wetlands. So question: should I try to capture him and take him down to the pond? I don't know if that's even possible, but it's constantly on my mind...

OK, off to concentrate on bigger items than frogs; paying bills for example...wishing all a good day!

[papmom3]

Magical March Madness - Week 3

Hey Cyn-bring him to my pond! I would kill to have a frog! I would hope the frog is savvy enough to jump into the water when anything approaches. How big is he? Is he peeper size? Have you heard the peepers? My absolute fav sound in the whole world and I can't hear them where I live. Correction, now that the trees are gone, I can faintly hear the chorus 2+ miles away but only if the traffic noise has disapated for a few minutes which is very rare (and the sheriff's recruits aren't doing target practice in the dark!!) I would also hope that frogs taste really really yuckky so that if your doggies decide to taste they will learn their lesson.
I'm glad you are loving the profusion of blooms right now. It only gets better!!
Here's my wittle bitty daff in my forsaken front bed:

[Lavande]

Magical March Madness - Week 3

:H papmom - your daff needs some company!!

Cyn, we had a real fish pond at our last house. The frogs used to come & go on their own, no encouragement needed. Their main source of food is bugs of course. There is a creek thta runs behind my house now (about a quarter of a mile away), I can hear them singing like crazy at night.

Dill, loved your post. #4 - about needing compassion & empathy really hits home with me. That's exactly what I've never received from YB throughout our lives. When I bring it up in conversation he just remains silent. I don't think he has a clue as to what it means

SD glad you are doing so well after 9 months

Hello to Blondie, Rustop, Rusty & everyone! Where's our Sooty??

I have been to Curves & am now about to head out for a hair cut & a quick food shopping. Just realized I am on another 13 hr babysitting shift again tomorrow - oh boy!

Have a great day y'all!
Lav

[dill]

Magical March Madness - Week 3

Hey Lave and Papmom, I love that story too and the thing is, it's all true about the behavior of the geese. When I first read it it really struck me how much it summed up this thread.

Cyn, I had to laugh when you asked me what book I found that quote in. It wasn't any profound tome, believe me! It was in Dean Koontz City of the Night, the 2nd book in his Frankenstein series!:H:H And, the character that said it was the monster himself! Still, a good quote is a good quote. And the monster has been trying to reform himself and has been living in a Tibetan Monastery for the past 200 years.

LBH, where are you? I started the Boardwalk Empire last night. Love it!

[Chillgirl]

Magical March Madness - Week 3

good evening flock

So much inspiration here today!

Dill - I have a new endearing respect for geese, what a beautiful story and comparison to our thread. I love that we all have our individual strengths and each a unique input that we can all benefit from.

Blondie - I was so inspired by your post about St Paddy's day, wow you really came up against it and Im so proud of how you came through.

Star - Another inspirational story from you about your Nephew, it warms my heart to hear a young person say this. I have "one" sensible nephew who is not a big drinker like my other ones and he actually tried to come home early from a boys holiday in Spain because of the disgusting drunken behaviour which was everywhere.

Cyn - I know we shouldnt interfere with nature but I escort every tiny weeny insect safely from my house to the garden incase I step on them. Except the spiders who are rarely on the floor and I like having them around.

Papmom - what are peepers? Are they the tiny wall frogs that sound like little bells? I used to hava a million croaking at night as well as crickets. I miss all that so much and the bats and the owls.

I had my own inspirational moment today, I was waking Elle this evening when I had an epiphany re forgiveness. I have a huge problem forgiving my ex for all that has happened in my life and despite reading every subject on the matter from Colin Tipping to the Dalai Lama, I have never been able to let it go. It always comes back in flashes of anger of "how could he do this to me!?".

My epiphany was "what an incredibly self centred way I have been looking at it." He didnt go out of his way to "do" anything "to" me. He did what he did given the circumstances he had at the time and although his choices could have been better it was never "about me" and he is suffering dearly too, its not like something was deliberately done to hurt me. It is said that God actually never forgives because to forgive means you have judge someone in the 1st place and God doesnt judge.

[Raven.joy]

Magical March Madness - Week 3

Only two things in life are certain, death and taxes so the old adage goes Jolie

Just this last week had to deal with my youngest daughter (14) drunk for the first time. I hope she won't turn out like me, at the age she is the true nature of alcohol less disguised. She was overtly, talking(gushing) nonsence and was eventually sick. Lets hope she learns what we did not!

[papmom3]

Magical March Madness - Week 3

For Chill: http://www.naturesound.com/frogs/pages/peeper.html

Our peepers are tree frogs that live in wetlands. The picture on this website make them look big but they are really only about an inch in length. Tiny things who are very difficult to see at all!

[Jolie]

Magical March Madness - Week 3

Happy Hump Day all!

Raven.Joy - you are absolutely right and I actually started mine today! Hope to finish by the weekend and also hoping I gets loads and loads back from old Uncle Sam Actually just hoping to either break even or not have to pay a whole lot

Chill - what an aha moment huh? Glad that you feel you are finally able to let go and forgive. I've never had anyone do anything really really bad to me but I'm guessing it wouldn't be easy to let go of for me either.

Loved the geese story too! I love to hear geese when they fly overhead.

Okay - need a shower and then off to watch my fav shows!

Have a good one everybody!

[Lavande]

Magical March Madness - Week 3

Not on the babysitting schedule tomorrow afterall :yay:
I use the time to clean & install some screens as it's get fairly warm around here.

Papmom, that's the sound I hear coming from my backyard every night

Jolie, I have read tons of books like Chill has on letting go of past hurts. I even have meditation/hypno CDs on the topic. I kind of chose to go along with Colin Tipping's advice.......
There really is nothing to forgive - everything is unfolding in the universe as it should (as was planned long before we even arrived). I am not going to spend the rest of my life being pissed off because things didn't turn out as I thought they would. Instead I am doing all I can to be grateful for what I have today & stay open to any possibilities

Duck when those geese fly overhead :H :H

[daisy45]

Magical March Madness - Week 3

Hi all, what a great thread. Love the 'geese' post.
Feeling great to be at 18 days into my 'life of choice'.....I don't think I have had a craving as such this time round. I have had thoughts but so far so good.
It's hard to explain but I feel a sense of peace even though there have been quite a few chaotic goings-on in my life.
I am smoking again but I've decided to give myself a break and deal with that a little further down the line.
You are a busy lot here - will check in tomorrow; have a good night all!!!!

[Lavande]

Magical March Madness - Week 3

Hey daisy - busy is good
Having that sense of peace is a good sign I think. To me it meant 'business'. I was determined not to mess around & waste any more of my time & I haven't
Come to think of it - what are you doing up this time of night?

Wishing everyone a great night!
Lav

[sunshine_gg]

Magical March Madness - Week 3

Really REALLY late check in! Happy to see everyone had a good day and Lav gets to rest and do nothing tomorrow (yeah, right!) :H

I don't think I have that sense of peace at the moment but I feel better just being able to put a name/reason to why I am feeling so low. I mentioned it on the daily AB thread... I think I'm missing my old mare. I lost her almost a year ago and with the barn finally coming together and her not being there... well, I think it just got to me.

Anywho... still marching towards 6 months and no plans to stray from that path

Have a good night, everyone, sleep well.

[Stargazerlily]

Magical March Madness - Week 3

Good morning to all...

Up really early for some reason, so am just going with it, spending extra time on the computer, not having to rush around.

Chill, it is hard to really let go, I would think that after being married for a time, it would be even harder, and being able to let go would be liberating. Are you moving soon? Hope it goes smoothly and easily.

Cyn, I understand your feelings about really appreciating all the growing bulbs, flowers, etc., the lushness and the intense green. It is so powerful, and such a contrast from the desert. I have been doing mindfulness exercises on my bike rides and car rides, enjoying the sights, smells, sounds, and feelings of the warmth and new life. It is truly an amazing time.

Daisy, so great to have you on this thread.

Sunshine, it is good to know what triggers a craving, and loss can be powerful. Grief to me is like a wave, it can overpower you for a time, just out of nowhere.

Pap, the daffodil picture made me laugh, it does need friends. I love the smell of daffodils.

I was thinking how being AF is a mindset...we decide that it is just not worth it to drink, it does not enhance our life, it causes us to be sick, a##holes, numb, clumsy, and just not ourselves. I loved Blonde's description of analyzing her day at the beach. It was a great day because she was at the beach, not because of anything alcohol could do for her. Keeping in mind that alcohol ruins our good times is part of the process of change, and just the opposite of what the media tells us. Clarity for everyone.