Magical March Marchers - Week 4

[Stargazerlily]

Magical March Marchers - Week 4

Good morning to all...

Lav, three years, how wonderful. Could you let us know the best parts of your continued AFness? I love the inspiration and support you give on a daily basis, thank you so much.

Sped, what interesting things you do, and the hiking sounds fantastic. I too just go one day at a time, it is what works for me.

Chill, thinking of you as you pack and get ready for your next adventure, peace and love sent to you.

SD, work is so much better isn't it? The ability to manage and handle all types of situations improves, and feeling honest and having integrity doesn't hurt either.

Dill, loved the quote, thanks so much for posting. Hope you are doing well on your AF journey, it is such a blessing to have your back!!!!

Rusty, have fun in Michigan...are you really far north? I love Michigan, as a kid we always went there for vacation.

Rustop, hey, I gardened yesterday too and my fingers are so sore, but it was worth it.

Hello to papmom, jolie, fly, and all.

[Stargazerlily]

Magical March Marchers - Week 4

Happy Birthday Fly, hope you get to celebrate the way you want.

Cyn, I love the outdoors too, this spring is such a gift.

[BlondeAFAmbition]

Magical March Marchers - Week 4

Hi Gang...well, here we are in the last stretch of March...cannot believe April first is Sunday, right? Geez! Anyone got any fun plans for Easter? We are going to meet up with family for Easter dinner and let me warn you by saying this is a big drinking crowd...ugh. This will be the first test in my sober stretch of days since my sobriety date. I plan to bring some cans of diet tonic and gingerale and just stick to my AF guns...it will be a test but one I know I can pass.

Happy Birthday FLY! I was just asking about you yesterday...I hope are well my friend!

Gotta run to work...have a super Monday all!

[BlondeAFAmbition]

Magical March Marchers - Week 4

PS.."MOTHER GOOSE"...I love that! Happy 3 Years Lavande! We are trully blessed to have you here. You have made such a difference in my life for sure. I remember when I first leaped into the Newbies Nest back early LAST year, you welcomed me with opened wings and at that time, your avatar was a cute blue creature that winked. I will never forget how you extended a hand to me in my time of need...not just once but many. THANK YOU.

[Lavande]

Magical March Marchers - Week 4

Good morning everyone! Why is everyone up so early? :H

Thanks to all of you!
star, you asked about the best part of being AF for three years..........
So much has gone on in my life these past three years & I have been healthy & clear headed for every bit of it, the good & the bad I think I have finally found my true self!
I now know who I was supposed to be.....not the guilt filled, anxiety ridden, confused individual who found MWO with a hope & a prayer!
Yes Dill, I agree with Abraham Lincoln ~ we all can do this

Shelley, you are awesome building houses & handling power tools!!!! Keep up the great work!

Wishing everyone a great AF Monday. I'm heading to Curves then to a Curves luncheon at 12:30

Lav

[FlyAway]

Magical March Marchers - Week 4

Happy Anniversary Lav!

Three years is incredible! You are an inspiration to us all.
:grouptrophy:

[FlyAway]

Magical March Marchers - Week 4

I'm so happy that I don't drink anymore! We went to the birthday party last night and my husband was a mess by the time we came home. He was hard to understand because he was so drunk. He was drinking cheap beer that he would never buy on his own (stuff he would say tasted like piss), then moved on to shots of whiskey. I didn't see any of this going on. Obviously I saw the effects afterward. It reminded me of what Jason Vale says in his book about how people say they drink because they enjoy the taste. He asks if you've ever opened a bottle of wine that you don't think tastes good but drink it anyway. Or if you're at a friend's house and they don't have the type alcohol that you like to drink, but they have something else. You most likely end up drinking whatever your friend has. People drink because they are addicted to the alcohol and they want the alcohol in their system, not because it tastes so good.

I'm sitting here in my kitchen enjoying the beautiful sunshine outside and sipping some wonderful coffee. My husband woke me up once through the night to vomit and then a second time to get the bottle of Advil to ease his pounding head. And he's still in bed. Yep, I'm really happy that I don't drink anymore! There is no way in hell I'd trade places with him right now.

[sunshine_gg]

Magical March Marchers - Week 4

Lav, Happy Anniversary! 3 years is just fantastic! And thank you for being here every day supporting everyone else :l

Wheeeee... from +25C last week to -10 today! No gardening for me today! :H Thankfully, I did get a start on a small future flower bed by the barn yesterday.



Really need to catch up on work today, so I'll be sporting an ingrown office chair by the end of the day Have a fabulous day, everyone! Oh.. and Fly.. happy belated birthday! I wouldn't trade places with your hubby, either

[Lavande]

Magical March Marchers - Week 4

It doesn't look that cold in your picture Sunni :H
Stay warm & let us know if yuo need help extracting yourself from your chair

FlyAway, did he have to go to work this morning? Ugh!

Had a great lunch out today with 25 of my closest Curves friends :H
They apparently do this every year, enjoyed it for sure.

It is SO windy here today that my large & heavy umbrella on my deck table flew out of place & wedged itself between the table & the grill - geez!!! I'm going to leave it right where it is until someone shows up to give me a hand with it.

[Dewdrop]

Magical March Marchers - Week 4

I simply had to logon and say congratulations to Lav ? what an amazing woman you are and such an inspiration to so many on here. I wonder if you truly appreciate how much you are thought of and how many people you have helped along their way. I am so happy to know you Lav and have a huge amount of respect for you :l:l

Life has been quite a journey recently, health wise I?m getting back to normal and feeling much better with each week that passes. I finish work this week and look forward to the changes that will bring (enormous changes!), and I?ve been spending a lot of time reassessing what I want in my future. I?ve not been around much recently because I really feel I have moved on and no longer define myself by my drinking nor by my not drinking. That might not make any sense but I?m simply getting on with life and I find the only time I think about drinking is when I log on to My Way Out. However you have all become such a big part of my life that I still think of you as individuals on a daily basis so I will check up on you all regularly if that?s okay but not as often as I used to.

I have been reflecting a lot recently and have really felt I would benefit from some time alone away from the many distractions of life and family so after discussing it with my meditation mentor I spent a week on a solitary retreat near the Buddhist Centre I go to, the cabin is set in some beautiful countryside overlooking a loch. There are some wonderful walks and hills on the doorstep and I was fortunate to have some good weather for this time of year so was out on the hills a lot. I took my kindle and a few books I?ve wanted to read, some knitting and did loads of meditation and yoga. It has been one of the most peaceful and inspiring times I?ve had and has really moved my meditation practise deeper. The cabin is near enough to the Buddhist Centre that you can walk out although it is up the hillside so they use a quad bike to take your luggage and supplies up, but you are completely on your own for 7 days. A simple log cabin, basic bed, toilet, shower and some cooking facilities and they supply food when you arrive to take with you, obviously vegetarian so lots of rice, pulses, veggies and fruit ? very healthy.

I could write a book about my week and I kept a daily journal so I have my memories and thoughts to read back on. I kind of feel the week was so special that I don?t want to share it ? which is so selfish and not Buddhist in any way! . I had such a wonderful time I have booked another week in May! I came home to a Mother?s Day organised by my Mum for myself and the DIL?s and their families, she had organised little posies of flowers for all of us and organza bags of homemade chocolates and fudge, the grandchildren had helped make the lunch and although it was a bit chaotic we all had a lovely day together. It was what families are all about and everyone had a good time apart from the two and a half year old granddaughter who threw an amazing temper tantrum for someone so tiny ? my goodness is she a force to be reckoned with when she is angry!!

The weather recently has been wonderful and I?ve been able to get back into my power walking regularly which is making me feel much stronger and healthy. I?ve also been getting into the garden which I love and I plan on really spending as much time as I can there over the summer, I?ve dug over an area for veggies and salad, and I?ve also dug over an area as a nursery bed to take as many cuttings as I can and restock the garden for next year. Life is good and I am more centred and connected with myself than I have ever been, I will have to find a way of earning a living for the next 10 years, however I am confident that will sort itself out one way or another.

Take care everyone and stay sober ? it?s the only way to really live your life.

Dewdrop :h

[Rusty]

Magical March Marchers - Week 4

Hi Guys!

I am in Montague, MI, on Lake Michigan, working long hours but surrounded by great people.

Dew-thank you for checking in with us. You sound so at peace with your life, and you truly embrace the Buddhist philosophy, and it's obvious it agrees with you. The solitary retreat sounds like a fabulous way to renew your soul. There are few distractions, and the simple, peaceful life exudes contentment. I am happy you have moved on and you "no longer define yourself by my drinking or not drinking." Drinking was a chapter in your life that you have closed. Typical of your incredibly positive and levelheaded frame of mind, you can move on to the next phase in your life, and absolutely, I know you will sort it out, and those lucky enough to be around you will say, "I wish I had known this wonderful woman years ago.":h I think of you often, and hope cancer stays away from you forever.:l I think it's a very healthy attitude to NOT define yourself by drinking. I feel the same way, as you know. I see people from another thread have been reading my posts, and responding to them, although not calling me out by name.:H

Fly-belated Happy Birthday! I am soooo sorry that your husband got dreadfully ill. UGH!! I feel badly that your birthday ended with the sight (or sound....ummm...which is...worse?) of your husband vomiting. Ewww....bummer if he had to go to work today.

Rustop-I love the pic of your horse! He/She/It is absolutely beautiful! He reminds me of "My Little Pony," very popular here....in books....on lunchboxes. How lucky you are to have such a wondrous animal. My sister and I find horses so soothing. Neither of us compete anymore....we just like to have them as pets. Although my sister does have 3 pygmy goats, too.

Papmom- COME OUT, COME OUT!! Is that DD in your avatar? What a cutie.

Sunni-I am the one who asked about what kind of horses you have. And, I lurk on the Daily Thread once in a while, not often, but you often refer to Mr. Wonderful. Is that your husband/partner?

Blonde-sorry you have to be with a drinking crowd on Easter....and I know you'll be AF. Everyone in my family drinks moderately so I'm lucky that way. We're going to my brother's house for dinner....nothing out of the ordinary.

Lav-re; the flying deck umbrella.....all I have to say to you is, "click your heels three times and say, 'there's no place like home, there's no place like home...." hahahaha!
Where are you, birthday girl?:H

Chill-I'll be sending you good thoughts.....I am hoping you can move and stay in one place, in a home you love, a job you love, with people you love, so grass will grow under your feet. I'm thrilled that you found Positively Alive....I know they're glad to have you, too.

Star-Michigan is a really pretty state....Montague is right near Muskegon, so right on Lake Michigan, and I am lucky enough to come back here in the summer.

A big hello to Dill, LBH, Shelley, SD, Mr. G, Sooty, Raven...and anyone I may have missed....have a fabulous night!

[Lavande]

Magical March Marchers - Week 4

Dew,
Thank you for your kind words
I do feel a whole lot of love around here, keeps me coming back for more & more

Your week away sounds wonderful, so glad you enjoyed yourself. Hmm, I should think about doing something like that one of these days. Your family obviously loves you (tantrims and all). Mother's Day is special. I am sure you will do some great things over the next ten years, I wish you the best. And I'm happy to hear you are feeling strong

Edited to say we cross posted Rusty!
I'm just busy running from party to party around here today :H
Are you anywhere near Holland, MI? That's where my brother is & he's having major surgery Wednesday - geez, wish I was there.

[Rusty]

Magical March Marchers - Week 4

OOPPS....Lav, sorry...cross post! Just sending you a "Happy Anniversary" e-mail.
You are truly a model for AF success. I think what impresses me most about you is that you are very modest and unassuming. You are so unselfish with your time, most importantly, because you have so little of it, and yet you put yourself out for people, whether they are not AF, struggling to be AF, or AF and loving it. You are not preachy or self-serving. BTW, yes, your winking blue frog was the avatar you had for quite a while, but I'm so glad he jumped back in the pond and swam away! :HRivit....rivit. Yes, yes, I am VERY near Holland. Your brother is having major surgery....oh, so sorry. I hope everything turns out ok for him. I didn't think you were close to your brother?

More paperwork to do....see you guys tomorrow!

[Lavande]

Magical March Marchers - Week 4

Thanks Rusty

My brother is not 'close' to anyone......
But - I continue to receive phone calls from his 68 year old wife who is feeling pretty scared at the moment. Their kids are useless - one of them is on deployemnt to Germany for 3 years & too busy to lend a hand. My brother & his wife have 42 year old twins who are useless That's why I get all the worrying calls. BUT, there's really nothing I can do for them but hope for the best & I do.
So you don't like my big blue headed blinky avatar? :H I was thinking about putting it back in action for a while :H

[sunshine_gg]

Magical March Marchers - Week 4

So sorry Lav... hoping for the best right along side with you :l

Yes, Rusty, Mr. Wonderful is my partner. But at times, he gets other names :H
Well, visiting poop-in-the-living-room pooch has gone home, the big boyz are in their stalls, barn cat is at the barn, house cat is in the house, and Shelby is snoring. All is well. :H