Awesome August Abstainers

[Jolie]

Awesome August Abstainers

Itsmytime - cross-post!

Good for you! It is so darn enlightening to see things clearly without that damn haze of alcohol. Keep riding that high because that's really all you need in life to be happy.

:goodjob:

[Lavande]

Awesome August Abstainers

Good morning all!

It's so humid outside my windows are fogged up, gross

SD, I am grateful that you recognized the S&S of a control freak before you became too attached.
Being 'mature' can be a big help ~ I was a teenager looking for love & acceptance when I attached myself. I won't do that in my next lifetime :H

rustop, thinking of you & your house full of guests

Hi G & IMT!
It's wonderful having a clear view of the world with no AL in sight!!!

Hey Jolie, no storms here last night. Such weird weather, huh?
Enjoy your yoga class!

I have to go meet my son to sign over the title to an old car of mine to him. He decided to buy it from me to use as a 'beater car' :H
He make 2 trips/week to DC & back each week for work & this car is perfect for that use

Have a great AF day one & all!
Lav

[dill]

Awesome August Abstainers

Rusty, it's great you can be so supportive to your cousin Anne! I'll bet it is helpful to her to be able to share her experiences growing up in an alcohol-infested home. I am glad I didn't start losing myself to alcohol until later in life so my drinking never affected my children growing up.

SD, that sounds like an interesting moment when your Mom was offering you everything including the wine and your step-dad chimed in with the non-al list!:H I'd venture that it was a mixture of factors that were at play. Your Mom is probably a bit in denial about the down-side of al, but also, she was treating you like the adult that you are. It is up to you to decide what you want to drink, so I commend her on that! Your step-dad was being supportive of you in his way, too, so all the way around, I think the people in your life really care about you! Now, you need to get the message across to them that you prefer PEPSI PRODUCTS!!!:H I prefer pepsi, too, but when my son is coming over for a meal, I buy him his Coke.

Lav, why are you feeling the need to smudge? Has YB been leaking negative fumes?

Pap, I have never, ever taken any dog of mine to a dental appointment! That's a low priority item. Get them some denta-styx in the pet ailse for the time being. And as to the echocardiogram...that's a back burner item. You know what you are dealing with: a heart murmur! Do whatever home remedies are recommended for heart murmur and save the $$$. Do not stress over those vet items. As long as you have them vaccinated, wormed, heartguarded and frontlined, you are doing your job as a Papmom for the time being. That's my unsolicited opinion. Hope I didn't offend anyone.

LBH, my regular breakfast spot was closed this morning due to it being county fair week. Mr. D and I had to make do at a local Frisches.

We made our way back over the winding roads through the hills of southern Ohio without incident. It was a very pleasant day al the way around. I'm out of time here for now and must run!

Hi, Rustop, Jolie, IMT, and G and all to come! Happy AF Saturday!

[Lavande]

Awesome August Abstainers

Hi Dill,

No, I don't feel the need to smudge now.....
I was thinking papmom could do with some serious smudging though

I totally agree with your thoughts on the doggie expenses. As I mentioned to papmom this morning via PM - while it's nice that Vet Medicine is raising their standards of care, most of us cannot afford all that. And why do expensive testing on an older dog? Most heart murmurs are functional, my daughter was born with one!!! Yikes, no need to spend $$ that we don't have readily available, huh?

Well I just had an interesting moment with my son. We went to the place where you do the transfers of car titles. I opened the folder clearly marked '99 Chevy (YB was always anal about filing stuff). Right there was 'a' car title which I handed over to the clerk. We all sign it, etc, etc. then I suddenly noticed the title was for the '05 Chevy (the one YB just took over) :H :H
Fortunately the correct title was deeper in the folder so the transfer was completed!
So much for YB's filing skills :H

[ladybirdheart]

Awesome August Abstainers

Hi Awesome troopers. Pap, your swim sounded so perfect, I am glad you rediscovered it. There are so many things in life that are not fixable or are otherwise out of our realm of control but stopping alcohol, exercise, and nutrition are ours alone for the taking. Hold tight through PAWS, IMT, it has upended me more than once after a couple of months, and it IS Your Time. Mine too. Usually I go through this period of profound fatigue. I am fine if I am exercising but stopping, eating a meal, sitting still and watching a movie, I feel depleted, no life force, no spirit, no concentration, no restorative rest, no hope. In the past I have ended up drinking, getting a bunch of things done, then feeling worried and anxious after a day or two and starting over again with abstinence which feels really good until I finally poop out. This time I am determined to ride it out even though it feels as though it will never go away. I do know it won?t kill me even if I have it forever. I shall just have a new life as a lamp base. Funny story about the car title, Lav. Your trip sounds pretty, Dill, as does your new dog. Rusty, a fine cousin you are to give such sensitive respite. Its really good to hear from you Jolie and G and Rustop et. al. SD, now you get to look forward to falling in love again, that is such a fun part of life even when in the end it is frequently kind of a dud. Pappy, I deeply sympathize with your pet care dilemma, it keeps a lot of people who would love to adopt a companion animal away in order to avoid the huge sense of responsibility that can have us facing a financial hardship that is impossible to bear. I have been going to a clinic that is aggressive in wanting to pull out all the stops and is allied with every specialist in the region. They cost a fortune. I realize after talking with some old ladies at the YMCA who have sweet old doddery pets and NO money, that there are still vets out there who focus on keeping the pet comfortable and happy, who never do tests for more academic issues, and who provide emotionally palliative care for pet and person. I have decided to find a new vet for my dogs and cat. I already found one for the bird. When I took my old parrot to my fancy clinic for a beak trim, for example, they charged for an ?exotic pet exam?, gave him a huge blood panel and an x-ray, with lots of concern about possible ?liver issues? and recommendations for further tests and possible treatment alternatives. It was several hundred dollars. When Lord Bird Heart took him elsewhere recently, the new vet (drum roll) trimmed the beak. She said the bird was elderly and arthritic and his beak was probably a bit sore so he didn?t grind it off as effectively. She also trimmed his nails and wings, gave him a free bag of treats and played with him, for 34.00 dollars. I am not sure how to figure out what is ?necessary? or not, and I need to find somebody who will not scare or guilt me (it is really easy to do) into just getting everything, ?just in case?. I would never do that to my own physical body, I let things run their course and interfere as little as possible with medications unless it is an emergency; my primary care doc was even going to drop me because I had not shown up in over two years:H. I don't want to go THAT far but I do hope to find more balance for the little buddies who share my world. Goodness, this is LONG. I need to zip it. Love, Ladybird.

[sdlovespackers]

Awesome August Abstainers

LBH--If anything good can of this relationship it was just that...I AM looking forward to falling in love....and I wasn't even sure (before this) I wanted a relationship. I really do...but a good, healthy one. I just think because it had been so long since I had dated (4 years almost)...and he came on SOOOO strong and said all the right things and did all the right things (he is a salesman after all--he's a smooth-talker)...he just kinda swept me off my feet. But he couldn't keep all that up for long...like my mom always said..a man can never usually last more than 3 months without giving up their true colors...he lasted about a month and a half...I should have went with my gut right before the 4th of July!! Live and learn!
Be kind to yourself LBH, you are doing wonderful--moving into month 3 is so cool...a quarter of a year will be down the tubes!! How awesome is that?!! I'm really not going to try to focus on day 1, day 2 right now..I'm afraid I'll get discourage (to be honest)...I'm going to more keep reminding myself of what I've accomplished...that I face planted in July, got up dusted off and continued my journey...:H right next to my other feathered friends!!:l
SD

[papmom3]

Awesome August Abstainers

Thank you my friends for all the words of encouragement and advice. What I need to do is hop on my pap board and ask my good pap friends what they would do in terms of dentals, heart murmurs and aging pets. Dental disease and heart disease are the scourges of papillons and just about everyone I know has gone through some scenario of either one or both.
LBH-what you said really made so much sense because I think you are like me-we would rather not eat than deny our fur and feathered kids whatever they need to live a quality life. I went with this "chain" vet practice because it's the same chain I was with before but when my vet moved on I didn't want to drive the 20 min anymore. this office is literally 1.5 miles down the road so the convenience is perfect!! But, being a VCA hospital their prices are sky high. I'll have to do some research now and see if I can do better.

Went swimming again this afternoon after work. My hip doesn't feel as good as it did yesterday but it will take time to get strong and flexible again no that I'm not doing PT anymore.

SD-so sorry to hear about the breakup but you did good girl!! The reason I am still single is that every single one of my "serious" boyfriends who I was head over heels in love with when I was in my 20s and 30s were not right for me and to some extent were abusive, at least emotionally. I was a doormat when it came to guys and I just won't go through that again. Ever. You are so much stronger and more confident than I ever was so I am quite certain you will find your soul mate!

Dill-no, no offense taken. I treasure your opinions! One thing tho, at 10yo, Mickey is not really a senior as most paps can live to 15 or 16. Oh, I guess he is then if I only have another 5 years with him. how did that happen?? Only 5 more years????? :upset:

Jolie-you asked the million dollar question and I don't have an answer yet. I guess it depnds on how good the counter is if it all works out that way.

IMT-way to go on your social event!! You earned a couple of gold stars for sure!!

Mr G!! I love it when you pop in!! Thanks for the support!!

I think I killed the fishies in my pond today. I was cutting the vegitation that was falling in and they were coming up to the surface to see what was going on. Then I used the skimmer, kind of aggressively, to get the crap out, cleaned the filter and turned the pump back on and no fishies!! Usually they come right up under the water bell to get the good oxygen after being in a still pool for a couple of days. Not today tho. No fishies. Hope I didn't hurt them with the skimmer. Too bad the pond is so green.

[Lavande]

Awesome August Abstainers

Well good morning AAA's!

Checking in from the steambath - yuck
This is seriously stinky weather & no real relief in sight.

papmom, hope your fishies have resurfaced. We had a small concrete fish pond at our old house with no filter. The plants provided whatever they needed. Those fish lived out there all year long too
I know that I am not using the 'cheapest' Vet in the area BUT she is very nice & willing to listen to my babble & agree to my suggestions where my dogs are concerned. Some of the Vets around here are seriously over priced! Hope you can find someone new for your pets!

Well, YB came over yesterday to cut grass but it never got done. His mood was OK but he just sat in the AC in front of the TV, ate dinner & left. Said he will be back today ~ swell. In the meantime I need work done on my kitchen faucet. I bought the parts but I don't have the tools or strength to tackle the job. My freezer is starting to form frost inside so I know I need to vacuum the coils behind but I need someone to pull the fridge out for me - I can't budge the thing. I'm going to insist he helps me with these jobs today or he doesn't get fed today :H

Wishing everyone a fantastic AF day!
Lav

[itsmytime]

Awesome August Abstainers

Good morning Fellow Awesome people

Ladybird - you are sooo right about the fatigue, I haven't had the energy to get to the gym for a week, but dragging my butt there tomorrow no matter what. I would lay around and nap all day if I could lol

Another beautiful hangover free Sunday, not sure what the day will bring except for sure no alcohol.

Have a great one all, will check in later.

[dill]

Awesome August Abstainers

This time I am determined to ride it out even though it feels as though it will never go away. I do know it won’t kill me even if I have it forever. I shall just have a new life as a lamp base.

It may not feel like it at the present, but that is a winning attitude! The book I am reading about the power of habit and how to go about changing habits such as smoking and drinking says that the successful people have a tendency be people who not only make the changes in behavior associated with various cues (triggers) but who believe it will happen. We have to hold on to the belief that we will one day be readily and happily AF; that it will be our habit, so to speak. This is what will see us through.

Hold a picture of yourself long and steadily enough in your mind's eye, and you will be drawn toward it.
Napoleon Hill

I'm right there with you in that steam bath Lav and it is getting old! Oh, and good plan on holding out on the food until the work is done.

Papmom, I have a vet that I've gone to for years. I have been very lucky to have him. I hope you can find one that is loving and practical and a good fit for you.

SD, I agree that you should not focus on Day 1, 2, etc. You ought not need to feel like you are starting all over from the beginning. You've been there, done that! If you had a relapse that went on for a long time (like me) then you could truly say you are starting over. You are not in that category though. Do you feel like you are starting over from scratch?

IMT, you are right. In spite of the fatigue or PAWS or whatever it is, the up side is getting to share this "beautiful hangover free Sunday".

I have a friend from college visiting today. She will arrive this afternoon and will be here for a couple of days. Drinking will not be an issue, even though we did do a lot of that together at one time. She joined AA 20 years ago and has not had a relapse since. I have long admired her tenacity. We will have an AF visit.

Enjoy Sunday AF!

[Lavande]

Awesome August Abstainers

Dill, hope you enjoy your vist with your friend.
Tenacity = Lavan-ittude :H

SD, what's going on with you today?
I hope all is well in SD-land

Rusty, I am sick hearing about the shooting in Wisconsin today!
When the F is this country going to get some real gun control going?????
We are handing guns over to domestic terrorists

Well, YB did cut the grass, looks much better. He also climbed a ladder to unclog a gutter on the garage. My kitchen faucet is still dripping & most likely my freezer is still frosting but I'll survive :H
I fed him & he was gone before 7 pm :H

LBH, what you you up to today?
I feel like I need to do a role call!!!!

Hope everyone is having a peaceful evening

[ladybirdheart]

Awesome August Abstainers

Goodnight from here, answering the roll call, thanking everybody for your kind and encouraging words and sending them in return. Easy day here, the usual chores, then out to a matinee, ?Beasts of the Southern Wild?, and lunch downtown (five minutes away). Looking forward to the night, even if I have insomnia it is so different when not caused by alcohol, just drifting along, slow heartbeats, mending. Love, Ladybird.

[Rusty]

Awesome August Abstainers

Rusty here, checking in after a wonderful weekend, spent largely with my family, yet shaken by the shooting which was so close to the homes where several of our family business's employees live. We can't pray or go to a movie in public anymore.

Lav, thanks for letting me know you had seen the tragedy on TV. On another note, I thought YB was doing well on his meds. I'm sure there are many days you must just hold your head in your hands, totally puzzled by his behavior.

SD-don't be so hard on yourself, please. You're sharp and strong and vibrant. Some days I think your energy carries the entire thread. Let me know when it's time to go to the sperm bank.

LBH-I'm with you on falling asleep naturally as opposed to an AL induced haze.

Dill-as always, I love your quotes-thanks.

Jolie-I'm glad you survived the visit with your granddogs.

Pap-hope you're doing well today.

Yawn. I'm going to bed loved ones.

[sdlovespackers]

Awesome August Abstainers

Hey! SD checking in here quick...
ran my son and his friend over to the lake today...it was gorgeous out...but boy am I beat...what a loooong day!! I'm going to have to call it a night early tonight and catch up with everyone tomorrow...my apologies!!
Have a Happy Monday!
SD

[rustop59]

Awesome August Abstainers

Good morning everyone

Quick check in from me before the troops wake up. All well in Rustop Guest house but buzy. My daughter is going to take them into Dublin today which will give me a break.

Reading but have not had time to post properly, thinking of you all though. Have a great AF week.

Rustop