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April AF Flock - Week 4

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    #16
    April AF Flock - Week 4

    Good morning to all...

    Sunni, it was cold here too, really windy and harsh, I want the warm weather back. Lav, I have the heat back, the fireplace going, and candles lit, it is too dark and cold this early.

    Blonde, I understand your feelings of gratitude and contentment regarding waking up, having coffee, and feeling GOOD! What a total change to waking up scared, sick and stressed. It is so important to be mindful of how good life is when AF.

    LBH, we missed you, glad you are back. Bravo to you backing off from technology for a time. How was it? Did you include TV and cell phone? I don't think I could do it for long. I forgot my cell phone the other day and realized no communication either way to work. Yikes, I felt inconvenienced and recognized I am hooked/dependent on my cell phone. I just take for granted I can call anyone, anytime. I think it makes us impatient, when before cell phones, we had to defer gratification and maybe think more. What are your thoughts?

    Rustop, what a lovely day, walk, WW, then beauty salon. Have fun, Irish Rosebud!

    Chill, I began studying as an adult, was terrified, then learned how to do it. It took me time and lots of work, but I loved it. Each subject had its own rewards, really and truly. Even math. It is worthwhile to master an area of study, makes you feel smart and powerful, plus it is darn interesting. The more you learn makes you realize the less you know. I am truly humbled the older I get and realize that there is so much to learn and know. Are you looking for work or can you wait for a time? Again, I love the pictures you shared, the park looks amazing.

    SD, your post sounded healthy and happy, but really busy. Lucky you to look forward to summers off. A new car sounds like a good idea, I love a new ride.

    Cyn, summer in out east will be lovely, great smells, colors, and fireflies at night. I just love summer and all the flowers and warmth. Interesting that you have remade your career several times, how courageous. Do you spend lots of time with online learning or is there another way? If you have time, it would be great to hear how you changed your careers/learned computer skills/added to degrees.

    Rusty, still in there sending you positive energy and hope.

    I am busy at work, love the four day gig, and trying to be healthy and make good choices this week. I exercised yesterday and woke up too early with a back ache. It is so fun getting older. Truly, I am fine and will stretch out today, don't want to overdo it. Hello to all, have a productive day.
    Formerly known as redhibiscus

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      #17
      April AF Flock - Week 4

      Lavande;1303027 wrote:
      '' Chooks giving you trouble? Hey, no sweat. I'll deal with them punks. Just ring 0188 257 421 and ask for Matilda''.

      I bet it won't be long before she's ruling the roost Lav! :H

      What a cutie! :h

      Have a great week everyone.

      'I am part of all that I have met, yet all experience is an arch wherethro', gleams that untravelled world whose margins fade, forever and forever when I move'

      Zen soul Warrior. Freedom today-

      Comment


        #18
        April AF Flock - Week 4

        Mornin' Roses!

        How is everyone today? Thanks for another "awwww" moment via puppy photo Lav...I hope your lovely rug survives Princess Puppydom!

        I completely agree STAR, with the concept of being mindful about sobriety and not to ever take it for granted. I give gratitude every morning when I open my eyes and start my day thinking of only positive outcomes for the day. I am happy to be alive and feeling vibrant!

        Sun is back out today...yesterday was very dull and rainy but as we have said, we really did need the rain here. More to come this week I believe.

        Saucy-Congrats again on your 60 days! Great job! You asked about "The Secret" by Rhonda Bryne. I am a firm believer in this book and lifestyle...changing your life for the better by changing your thoughts. You are what you think. You life is a mirror of your thoughts. It's pretty incredible when you realize this as we do have the power to change life however we want. I have a copy of the book beside my bed and refer to it often by just opening a page every now and then. I also highly recommend the DVD...I have a copy of that as well. Very inspiring. I have also read "The Power" and am currently reading her new book "The Magic", which is like a workbook of 28 days of gratitude exercises. Cool stuff. The Power is about the ultimate power of love in our lives, not just referring to romantic love, but love of all things. She is a bit repetative in her concepts but I find her easy to read and understand and chock full of inspiration. Also check out the writers that she mentions in her books, they all have a common understanding of "thoughts become things", as Mike Dooley uses for his mantra.

        Right now I am reading some books by the angel therapy doctor Doreen Virtue. Also some books on CD by her. It's all about how to connect and receive messages from our guardian angels. Also really cool stuff! Lastly, Louise Hay is my very favorite of the new age/positive vibe authors and has been around for quite sometime preaching about the power of positive thoughts and affirmations to make our lives better. Check out Hay House Publishing ? Books, DVDs, Live and Online Author Events, E-books, iPhone Apps. She is also a publisher with a whole slew of self help authors in her entaurage.

        Well, one more day of work or me and I FINALLY get 2 days off. I missed them dearly last week when was at that conference in VT. So I am looking forward to them for sure this week!

        Hubs and I are seriously considering moving to Maine. I know I mentioned this a while back and found several Maine affectionatos on MWO.... Something is calling me to the Rockland, ME area. Not sure why...I have only been there for a brief pass through. So I've been looking at properties online and finding a few that are so cheap for the kind of great house you can get (Compared to Mass). For example, we have a 1 bedroom condo (a nice one) on a busy street here and for less money than what we paid for it, we could get a bigger single family home in decent condition near the ocean in Maine (not right on the water but very close). I would love to have our very own house and not be in a condo situation. We are lucky to have great neighbors and only share the house with one other condo but still, it would be nice to have something we could call our very own. So, peeps, I'm pouring all this out to you in case anyone has a house for sale in Rockland, ME (hey, you never know!) or knows someone or something about that area that might help me out in getting a life set up there. It's a big move but something is really pulling me in that direction and I am so inspired by CHILL to not wait around and to make things happen so I don't sit around and wonder "what if?" years down the line.

        OK, just did a brain dump on what is chewing at the Blonde these days. Hope y'all are having a cozy and delightful morning!
        Whatever you invest in the circle of LIFE is what comes back to you. Multiplied. What you give to people is what they eventually give back to you. Don't do the math. Just increase your LOVE.

        BE HAPPY...BE CONNECTED...BE HEALTHY!
        :h

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          #19
          April AF Flock - Week 4

          Good morning Flocking Honkers!

          The sun is shining this morning - yay!!!
          It is still chilly but not too bad.

          Blondie, my SIL is a real estate agent. I get her to find you a house (just kidding). She specializes in sellingbuilding lots created by old farms breaking up around here - unfortunately. Hope you can find something nice

          G - I'm not sure how big Matilda wil be but I think she has plenty of attitude & will be dominating the chooks in no time :H :H

          Star, I ended up on a four day work week the last several years of my nursing career. I really need that extra day to myself back then - enjoy & use that day just for you

          Rustop, good luck at WW! That reminds me, I need to get on the scale myself. Easter kind of threw me off, just a little.

          SD, good to see you! I can just imagine the excitement building as the end of the school year approaches for you.

          Dill, where are you? Shelley, Sooty??

          OK, I need to get a bit of work done, then go vote, then get a haircut, then meet a friend for lunch.
          Sounds like a plan!!!!

          Wishing everyone a terrific AF Tuesday!
          Lav
          AF since 03/26/09
          NF since 05/19/09
          Success comes one day at a time :thumbs:

          Comment


            #20
            April AF Flock - Week 4

            Thank you Cyn for the perfect ?peace/piece? understanding. I love that song and Ella is among my handful of all time favorites. I am glad to be back, and I thank each of you for welcoming me; I don?t seem to be able to remain AF on my own and I do live better without it. I do feel a bit raw/exposed being the only person posting right now who does not have relatively stable recovery but humility has never actually hurt me; I am sober today and happy with life. Yesterday I planted another baby smoke tree and a teeny tiny English rose bush, just a sprig really on its own root rather than a graft, that I ordered online before I went ?dark?. Yes, SD there was some major hippie nostalgia involved in all that. The rose is to replace one that I lost this year (the photo in my avatar was one of its blooms), the poor thing was ancient had not made a new cane in three years so a mercy killing was in order. This week I am set to receive six fancy Echinacea with flowers like pompoms and funny names like ?Raspberry Truffle? and ?Hot Papaya?, and next week yet more daylilies. The tomatoes I started from seed are outside and even blooming, so far so good, but it?s a garden, very educational for the spirit in that one has to ultimately let go of the outcome. Love to you all, I adore Maine, Blondie, and Lav, thanks for the photo of your puppy with her little red ?headlights? and silver wing chest decor. Stylish. Love, Ladybird.
            may we be well

            Comment


              #21
              April AF Flock - Week 4

              Hi again Flockers

              Thanks for all the congratulatory messages on my 60 days. It means a lot. I wouldn't have got there without the support of MWO. I've posted an update in My Story on my thoughts at 60 days AF.

              Blondie thanks for your comments on The Secret, when I've finished the book I may look at watching the film too.

              Had a busy day today, long day at work, havent had time to read properly but I hope everyone is doing OK.

              See you later

              Comment


                #22
                April AF Flock - Week 4

                Evening flockers!

                So windy today - at least the sun was out a bit.

                Sausage - had to read your signature line twice - makes me stop and really think about it. 8 months is a long time to go AF. Do you find this time is a little easier?

                For me, my 3rd serious try, I am finding it easier because number one, I am just tired of that same vicious cycle that being addicted to alcohol brings. Two, I'm tired of starting over - like waking up in the morning without that awful feeling of dread, and three, I'm finding out who I really am. Discovering a side of me I don't think I ever gave myself the chance to know - MY SOBER SIDE!

                Sorry for the rambling but just wanted to stress to anyone who has tried over and over again and may be reading this - don't ever give up! You will be so glad that you didn't.

                Peace to all my friends here tonight!
                Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.

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                  #23
                  April AF Flock - Week 4

                  I very much agree with you, Jolie :l
                  Okay, WHO put a stop payment on my reality check?

                  Winning since October 24th, 2013

                  Comment


                    #24
                    April AF Flock - Week 4

                    Thank you so much, Jolie. Thus far discovering my ?sober self? has been a stumbling block so I welcome deeply your input. While I feel fine about the usual things, clear mornings, a spring in my step, etc., I tend to encounter after a couple of months what feels like a total f-ing stranger. I have been not just emotionally but physically alone much of my life (Lord Bird Heart is a relatively recent phenomenon and he is aloof or I would never have managed it), and feeling estranged from myself can feel like losing my only anchor to anything. I even now live in my childhood home as it is all I have of a sense of past. While I know that one just has to get through the hard times and ?discover?, and while I imagine the discovery will be good, it really helps to hear it over and over. So I thank you and thank everybody again for staying sober and talking about why in the ways beyond the obvious. Love, Ladybird.
                    may we be well

                    Comment


                      #25
                      April AF Flock - Week 4

                      Evening notes from green and leafy land (and cold and blustery as well).

                      LBH, thank you and please continue to post regardless of what you name your 'status'. Ditto to everyone here - I feel for all of us that this walk that we're on sometimes has a spring in the step, but honestly also sometimes is a foot-dragging, back-turned-against-the-wind kind of walk. We have compassion here for the journey; I think as Lav said that we are in a way a connected family, and the concern extends in waves.

                      The marvelous quirky 'smallest NPR station in the nation' here has quite an assortment of interesting programs from remarkable people that live/work close by. Early early this morning I was ironing (yes, I do) and had the station on and they were doing a program called 'Sober Spotlight' which I curiously have made a point never to listen to. The moderator had taken a call from someone just out of treatment, asking what his next steps should be. At one point in her answer she said something about 'you are just now seeing the world without your substance'. I have heard a variation of that phrase a million times, but somehow it really struck me this morning. Even a year out, I am running into those 'adrift' places, am in fact in one now; so I guess we all cycle through some level of that discomfort/panic from time to time. This is when it's especially nice to have compassionate company...

                      Thanks to everybody --
                      to the light

                      Comment


                        #26
                        April AF Flock - Week 4

                        Oh, and -
                        PMom, hope you are feeling better soon -
                        Lav - you really found a stellar little girl -
                        Rustop - I love thinking of you as our wild irish rose -
                        Rusty - how are you today?
                        Miss you - Dill, Sped, Sooty, anyone else who is MIA
                        Thanks everyone for your stories...
                        to the light

                        Comment


                          #27
                          April AF Flock - Week 4

                          Good evening Flockers!

                          I'm glad you mentioned 'compassion' cyn because that is the main thing that has been missing in my life since 1986 when my Mom passed away.
                          She was the only person who (I felt) really understood
                          me & made me feel it was OK to be me. I have had a ton of 'plastic - artificial' friends who just seem to wander off & not even try to understand me or my concerns. The friend I met for lunch today is actually a former co-worker. We weren't big friends when we worked together but time changes things & people.
                          I am grateful to have my very own group of compassionate & loving friends/family right here

                          cyn, LBH, Jolie, Sunni, Sausage & everyone - wishing you all a good night!
                          Lav
                          AF since 03/26/09
                          NF since 05/19/09
                          Success comes one day at a time :thumbs:

                          Comment


                            #28
                            April AF Flock - Week 4

                            Good morning everyone

                            :goodjob: Sausage. Think I forgot to mention that yesterday and welcome to the thread.

                            Once again lots of wonderful posts. Compassion sums up this thread for me. There is no judging. In fact I would have left MWO ages ago if it were not for you wonderful people. Some threads have me want to run a mile when I read them so I now stay away!! Lots of us have not gotten the completely AF thing straight away but continue on our journey regardless. AF is the happier and better way to live and that is what I strive for. Doing well at the moment and so grateful to wake up clear headed every morning.

                            Had a nice facial yesterday. Off swimming this morning and then doggy walk and the usual at home with the girls. My oldest daughter is home studying, her final exams are next week. I cannot believe her first year is nearly over.

                            Happy Hump Day one and all.

                            Rustop

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                              #29
                              April AF Flock - Week 4

                              Good morning and thanks all for the honest/real/poignant posts.

                              LBH, it IS hard to stay AF without support, then the entire cycle starts all over again, I hate it. Have done it so many times, but never give up.

                              Rustop, I agree that this thread is nonjudgemental and with Lav that this is a group I love being connected to...

                              Cyn, I love NPR and have listened to a few addiction related shows, very interesting and informative.

                              Can't believe it is Wednesday already, let's all make it a good week.
                              Formerly known as redhibiscus

                              Comment


                                #30
                                April AF Flock - Week 4

                                HONK, HONK!

                                Good morning Rustop and Star.

                                So many lovely, supportive posts. I haven't been "MIA" for longer than a week but I see that my absence has been noted. Thank you all. LBH, I know you feel "exposed" so let me join you out on your limb. I have been unable to maintain AF too and am going to have to buckle down to it again. I, like Jolie, do like finding out who I am apart from alcohol and need to get my feet back on the road again. It will not be too bad, I don't think. I've only gone a short way down the wrong path. It has to do with the pressures of this season at work.

                                SD, I am still on the upward climb. I have had a TON of evaluations and IEPs to write, now we begin the meetings. I agree with you about how very boring and repetitive it is. But I will be through most of it by mid May.

                                Cyn, thank you so much for the song. Perfect.

                                My best wishes to each and everyone.
                                Dill

                                Dont forget, you can: start late, start over, be unsure, try and fail AND STILL SUCCEED!

                                If it is important to you, you will find a way. If not, you will find an excuse.

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