Simply Sober September ~ Week 3

[cyntree]

Simply Sober September ~ Week 3

Hi Lav, Star, Dill, Rustop, IMT and all to come --

Maybe there's something planetary going on...I also feel in a strange rut. Like a stranger in a strange land for some reason. I have done so well for the past 2 years feeling fine wherever we were; rentals, on the move, etc. Yet now that we have a house, I feel oddly displaced. I know this makes no sense, but there you have it. Maybe there is some connection with myself that I have misplaced, hmmm, will think about that...

Meanwhile, the doggy drama goes on; I was preparing lunch for my first 'friend-lunch', and I heard a huge 'ka-lumph' in the living room. Turns out it was my girl dog, on the floor and acting very strange, rigid, with her head snapping from right to left. So I did my best to get her 58 lbs picked up and close to a door, ran to get my car keys, trying to figure out how I was going to lift her into the car, and suddenly she stood up and slowly came into herself. This is the same dog that I took to emergency a week ago for hyper-salivation after eating some yard mushrooms. So, more blood tests, etc. Yikes. She was OK, but I shook for an entire hour, before we were able to go to the vet appointment. So it goes...

Wishing all a good hump day - where are you, Sooty? PMom, would love to hear from you too --
Hope all have a good night -

[Lavande]

Simply Sober September ~ Week 3

Oh boy cyn,
I don't know about you but I think I've misplaced some of my marbles :H
Maybe there is some sort of planetary thing going on & affecting all (most) of us ~ who knows?
Sorry about the doggie emergencies but it sounds like you did a great job!!!!

Dill, cooking dinner with a grandchild climbing on the kitchen table has become routine around here. I hope you had a great day with your little one
Tell us all about the black bean curry - sounds good.

Did you all hear today's news about the unsatisfactory arsenic levels in rice????? GEEZ!
Now we are supposed to wash it before cooking & cook 1 cup of rice in 6 cups of water.
Don't you think we will be tossing some of the good nutrients down the drain too? Ugh!

IMT, I'm so glad to hear you are comfortable in your AF'ness!
I sometimes think people 'mess up' after a period of AF time simply because they haven't changed their thinking - if you know what I mean. We really, really need to believe in ourselves!

OK, must prepare for tomorrow's 8 am arrival of my super busy grandsons. It's going to be one looong day with those two :H

[cyntree]

Simply Sober September ~ Week 3

Good luck with your day, Lav! Dill, please share the black bean recipe...

[dill]

Simply Sober September ~ Week 3

Here's a link to the recipe. It was really delicious!

Pakistani Black Bean Curry

Cyn, I hope your doggie is OK. It sounded like a seizure of some sort. Let us know what you find out.

Lav, it takes a lot of energy to keep up with the little ones, doesn't it!

[ladybirdheart]

Simply Sober September ~ Week 3

Good Evening. Sorry to have been missing for a few days, I am fine, still AF, just a bit scattered. I will be happy to take any "ruts" off your hands, I am fairly good at filling them in. I am also with you on feeling the change of season, it is very beautiful, so many things rally at the last minute, but inexorable, we know what is coming in our bones. At least if we are AF we can continue to grow on the inside, sort of an eternal Spring that we can carry around. Remind me of this when winter has me withered. That black bean curry will also bring me around. Hope the problems with your doggie are easy to sort out, Cyn, it can be such a helpless feeling. I have you all in my thoughts, hang around with us Pappy. Love, Ladybird.

[Stargazerlily]

Simply Sober September ~ Week 3

Good morning all...

I wonder if feeling in a rut is about winter coming...love fall but acknowledge that winter, after a time, is tough.

LBH, I was outside this morning looking at some of my flowers that are rallying, looking exceptionally beautiful after the hot dry summer. Focusing on good new recipes is a way to enjoy the cooler weather...

Dill, how fun, you are so lucky to have a beautiful little grandaughter close by and getting some grandma time.

Cyn, it would be hard to have a husband who is traveling often. Scary about your doggy. Love for our pets is intense. One of my cats has been acting strangely, so I am following the advice I saw on the Cat from Hell show. That Jackson Galaxy is so sensible and reallly good tips on managing multiple pets in one home. My one cat is super jealous of me, and I noticed that I need to play with all of them more. Easy to do as the weather gets colder.

Lav, hope you day goes well.

Shout out to Pap, we miss you. Still waiting to hear about Chill's weekend retreat.

Off to work, have a great Thursday.

[Lavande]

Simply Sober September ~ Week 3

Good morning friends,

Taking a mental moment away from a toddler terrorist & a pre-schooler who was already in big trouble even before he got here today
Apparently EB got up before everyone else & trashed his house. His mother was not a happy camper when she dropped them off this morning. Boy do I ever remember those days

Thanks for the recipe Dill, I will try it soon!

Greetings LBH, cyn, Star & everyone!

Hope everyone has a good AF Thursday.
We can handle anything with a clear head & I am eternally grateful - I know you guys are as well

Lav

[Chillgirl]

Simply Sober September ~ Week 3

:waving: Hi everyone

Sorry to have been AWOL since my weekend away, I dont know where the time has gone. It was an incredible conference and I saw my hero Wayne Dyer. Louise Hay was wonderful and her and another HayHouse author Cheryl Richardson did a "round the kitchen table" style session talking about anything and everything. For me Robert Holden also stole the show, he is a British author so im not sure if you will know him. He is big on A Course In Miracles and headed up a government scheme here called the Happiness Project, he has a HayHouse radio show and is well worth listening to.

After it finished I had to head straight to the airport, my 2 girlfriends went to a nearby hotel for dinner and guess what! They bumped into Wayne Dyer! Apparently they mentioned what a huge fan I was and a signed note from him is in the post to me :h

I havent had a chance to read back properly so I hope everyone is well, Lav - thanks for the link on the Vegan item, I have to say from personal evidence I am a zillion times healthier without red meat and dairy.

Its my birthday today and Mr Suffolk is cooking me a special dinner tonight and then taking tomorrow off work so we can have an extended weekend together. He is going to show me some more of this beautiful County. This is my 3rd sober Birthday and its hard to believe what a big deal the 1st one was to me. Now I cant think of anything worse than ruining my special day with alcohol. Instead, I started the day with self reiki, been to the gym and had a massage. Im 48 today and i'm healthier than I have ever been in my life. I could run rings around any 28 year old!

[rustop59]

Simply Sober September ~ Week 3

Hi everyone

Happy birthday, Chill, enjoy your meal and lovely weekend. Glad the last weekend went well.

Dill glad you get time to spend with your grand-daughter, you too Lav. It's a pity things are not different with YB but maybe this is Gods way of making up to you. I see so many grandparents heartbroken here as their children and grandchildren have had to immigrate and they are not part of their every day lives.

Cyn glad your doggie is ok. My hubby travels a lot so know what its like. Star enjoy your time with your kitties. Hope all well with you LBH.

Everyone else big hello.

Rustop

[dill]

Simply Sober September ~ Week 3

Hello One and All, noticing the change in seasons and enjoying it. I realized the other day that the up side of the shortening days in the increase in candle time. I think Star mentioned this a few days ago too. I so love scented candles! LBH, I'm glad you mentioned the plants undergoing their "last hurrah". I was noticing a resurgence in color in my flower beds, but was not really giving it full awareness or thinking about it in terms of a farewell. It is bittersweet.

I heard from Miss Sooty in an email that she is doing well and that Mr. S had his procedure (pacemaker) and all went well. He is feeling much, much better. In fact they just returned from a holiday.

I hope SD is well. It would be nice to hear from her. Pappy, Rusty, where are you?

[cyntree]

Simply Sober September ~ Week 3

Happy Birthday Chill!!! How remarkable - I remember your first AF birthday, how can it be already your 3rd? So glad that last weekend was wonderful, and it sounds like you have terrific plans for the weekend. Have fun -

Lav - did you survive the trouble-makers? (the little ones, I mean). AF sanity is a good thing, thanks for the reminder. Dill, thanks for the recipe - I will try it soon. Star - also thanks for the reminder about candles...I became so addicted to them during the power-outage last year that I rarely used electricity in the dark early mornings even after the power came back on...I'll get back to them now...

Hello to each and every, hoping all are well. Thanks for the Sooty news, now if we just knew more about SD, Pappy, and others. Rusty, you ok?

Well, girl-dog seems to have rallied; blood tests don't show anything. Probably some sort of seizure, but the vet says that it doesn't mean that she will necessarily have more...that of course would be my vote, but at least I will know better what to look for and how to deal with one if it happens again. Ah, internet research...

Hope you all have a good night --

[papmom3]

Simply Sober September ~ Week 3

Well hello everyone!! I am back for now and can't believe how much I've missed you all and how much time has gone by! I just finished reading all of week three so I think I am fairly caught up.

Chill- HAPPY BIRTHDAY!! I'm so happy to hear that all is still well with you and your man. 48 years young huh? Way to go!

Cyn-what a scary thing about your girl doggie!! My 20 year old cat had a series of seizures about 12 years ago. Never did find out why but I strongly suspect it had to do with Febreeze which I was using a lot of. I stopped using it and the seizures stopped. Very wierd. I'm betting your pup's siezures were a left over side effect of the mushrooms. Here's hoping she never has another one!

Lav-time to give YB another haircut? You sure do put up with a lot from him. You are a better gal than I.

Thank you all for wondering about me and TDN for PM'ing me.

It's been such a crazy first 2 weeks of school. I didn't get back to my own office until this Monday. I have managed to get pretty much caught up with everything tho so I feel good about going on vacation next week.

Finances still continue to weigh heavily on my mind and cause some depression. I've worked 40+ hours this month for my PT job and I think I willl just break even. Vet bills continue to soar and I HAVE to get 2 sets of brakes on my car next week to the tune of $600. I'm going to have to ask my dad to pay for them and I hate hate hate having to do that. My friend has invited me to visit her on the Cape next week for an overnight or 2 but I just can't afford the gas and I'm not sure she really wants 3 dogs in the house. I also have decided no agility trial in Maine over Columbus Day weekend. Can't afford it. So, as you can see, its a pretty depressing scenario.

On the bright side, LM continues to be asymptomatic. The vet put him on a 30 day doxy treatment in case he has asymptomatic tick borne disease. I'm a little pissed at her because I asked about that 6 weeks ago and she poo poo'ed me saying his blood tests didn't indicate it. But an internist she doesn't know and who doesn't know LM recommended it just on her summary of his case. I'm happy someone did but I think she and I will need to have a talk. She also said his protein levels have decreased a bit so she is upping his meds for that to see if they decrease even more.
we've also added fish oil. Mickey has gotten over his acute pancreatitis and has been doing well although today when I got home he was acting strangely, groaning and wouldn't jump off the bed. Seems ok now. wierd.

I have 2 more jobs I'm going for. I'm waiting to hear from one of them which is in my city and would be a lateral move. No idea what the salary range is. I just hope I get an interview. The other one is in Boston and a recruiter has contacted me about it. The commute would be awful but I would take the train. The salary is in the 80's tho so it would be well worth it. The cost of a monthly pass would be far less than what I am spending on gas right now. I probably wouldn't have to work on the weekends either but I would keep my PT job, just cut down on the hours. I'm waiting to hear from her as to what the next steps are. Its an IT position and I'm a bit nervous but she seems to think I am a good fit. We'll see. So fingers crossed everyone that my luck finally turns. Something has to give or I'll be declaring Chapter 8 in the near future. If that happens, I may be moving in with Lav!!

So, I think that catches you all up. I am very happy that through all of this I have no desire whatsoever to take up AL again. The thought of taking a drink again makes me nauseous, the same way the thought of smoking a ciggarette makes me feel and I haven't smoked for over 30 years!! I am feeling a bit more like moving around these days. I've been working with DD outside when I get home trying to teach him to roll a ball. Its a slow process but I have no doubt we'll be successful.

Thank you again for missing me and caring.
:l :h

[sidney]

Simply Sober September ~ Week 3

Happy Birthday Chill. Hope you have a wonderful time. Sid

[Lavande]

Simply Sober September ~ Week 3

Oy,
Almost 11:30 & I should go to bed but this long day really wound me up :H

Happy birthday Chill! Hope your day was fabulous!

papmom, you know if you move here you have to share in the diaper changing, ugh :H

Greetings Rustop, Dill, Sid & everyone!
Glad to hear Sooty is OK. Where is SD lately? And Rusty too......

[dill]

Simply Sober September ~ Week 3

Lav, your long day had you wound up and mine had the opposite affect! I was down for the count last night shortly after 9:00. I couldn't stay awake! Problem is, I woke up quite early this morning and couldn't get back to sleep. I started thinking about work and before I knew it, I was wide awake with various concerns. Oh well, not to worry. At least I was not faced with the dreaded heart-pounding, anxiety-riddled early morning terrors we've all known too well...

Papmom, I will be sending positive thoughts your way and hope that something is finally truly breaking your way on the job front! You deserve it. How long have you been with your current vet? I'm wondering if you should shop around for another one?

Cyn, I'm glad your dog has rallied and will keep my fingers crossed that it was just an aberration. That's interesting that you started using candles in the morning due to the power outage but then found you enjoyed it and kept doing it. I am going straight away to light a candle now. Maybe that will make these dark mornings easier to handle here as well!..................There, done. Yes, I like it!:h Thanks for the idea.

Happy Birthday, Chill. It's wonderful that this is your third! I'm so very happy for you. Enjoy that long weekend with Mr. S.

Rustop, are things back to "normal" for you these days? Although I enjoy visiting and site-seeing, I do cherish my routine.

Star, thanks for the reminder about candles! Perhaps it seems a small thing, but it does make a nice difference in accepting these longer, darker nights.

LBH, I have always rather enjoyed winter but I do like your thought of keeping an internal spring feeling, enjoying and exploring our hard-won freedom.

Time for some coffee and to get ready for the day. May we all be well and af.