Mindful May!

[Rusty]

Mindful May!

Good Afternoon, Mayflowers!

My family just left....it was a lovely, SUNNY day....perfect for a walk on the lake path. A great time was had by all. I am exhausted, but happy.

Dill-I meant that it never occurred to me to finish other people's drinks....and I am glad I addressed my drinking problem when I did, because as you said, I am not saying I was above doing it. It was in the fall of 2007 when my mom, aunt, and I were leaving for dinner, and had gone out the door, but my aunt quickly turned around, ran up the stairs and into the kitchen and finished off our half-full glasses. She is a joy to be around now that she is sober, and loving her clear-headed life. How lucky you are to have the scent and beauty of verbena and lilac in your yard.

Cyn-I will be happy when 5 years rolls around for me, too. I hope you found same wonderful treasures at the estate sale.

Pap-what is the "envelope" method of saving? My curiosity is piqued. No, we didn't get that snow....that's wayyyy north of us, thank God.

Lav-yes, my doctor said dairy is bad for my neck because it's an inflammatory food. She's never lead me down the wrong path.

Hello to Tip, Star, Perse, and anyone I missed....I hope you're having a peaceful AF Sunday!

[Rusty]

Mindful May!

Forgot to mention, Pap, you have a major anniversary coming up on May 8th. We'll all be here to celebrate with you. Good job on sticking to your budget, and keeping your demo job so you can get on your feet financially. I'm very proud of you!!

[Guitarista]

Mindful May!

Hiya MindfulMaySTAR's!

Hi Rusty! Hope your weekend was fab.

Pappy, you sound like you are kicking ass mam! Looking forward to your anniversary on may 8.

All good here. Just a quick flyby. Wishing everyone a safe, sober and magical mindfull week.

G bloke. :h

[Lavande]

Mindful May!

Good evening all,

Hi sister Dill! I just planted some dill in my herb garden this weekend - love it!

Shouldn't we be planning papmom's party or something?
I'll bring deviled eggs & Stella :H:H

Rusty, I read somewhere today that a study was done somewhere (I really did read the article :H)
that ginger has been shown to be as effective in reducing inflammation as cortisone & OTCs like Motrin. How about that?? Chop up a bunch of fresh ginger, boil it in water for 45 minutes then drink it as tea. They also said ginger in supplement form (capsules) was effective too. Wow! I'll try anything once

G, so nice to see you here - stick around for a while. I promise I won't let Rusty pester you too much!!!

Goodnight to all!
Lav

[papmom3]

Mindful May!

Hi MayPeeps!! Gosh I can't tell you how good it is to come here every nite or couple of nites and "see" you all! My world would be chaos if you ever left!!

G!!! I love it when you drop in! how about staying for a while and catching us all up on what is new with YOU!!

Rusty-thank you my friend for your kind kind words. I'm going to sleep tonite with a smile on my face! Before I tell you about the envelope system, please pass onto your Aunt my heartiest congrats on her 5 years of sobriety!! Its quite a testament to her isn't it? I sad to say I can't remember if I ever finished anyone else's wine. Most likely at parties anyway. sad.
OK, so the envelope system is a Dave Ramsey thing that I'm sure he stole from our great grandparents. You figure out what your variable line items are in your budget for each month and then you withdraw cash in a predetermined amount for each category. For example, I'm trying to reign in my grocery and pet food/supply categories as those seem to be the ones I have the most trouble with when trying to stick to my paper budget. I bought a coupon file for $.97, a box of small security envelopes for another .97 cents and labeled each divider in my file with the categories. I then went to the bank and withdrew the total amount I needed on the day I got paid. I asked for 10's and 5's and filled each envelope with the appropriate amount. Then put them in the corresponding divider. the amount for that category is written on the envelope and I subtract what I have spent so I have a running total. The whole thing fits into my purse and is always with me. When I buy food for me or the pets, I simply take out cash from the right envelope instead of whipping out my debit card. When the cash is gone, it's gone and that is where I will need tremendous restraint to keep from using the debit card because I ran short and "have" to have something. All other line items that are fixed each month either are automatically paid to the creditor or I pay it online when it's due. It's only the variables that I keep in the envelopes.
This is probably more info than you really wanted but there you have it!!

I'm very glad the snow missed you and that spring has sprung on the lake!

Lav-I get to meet Stella?? Yippeee!!! I saw the cutest chicks at the store yesterday. All yellow and striped balls of fluff and chirping and all!

I'm very excited about the 8th. It seems surreal somehow. I was feeling pretty down today about the job and finances and all and I have to say I had fleeting thoughts about throwing it all away on AL but I stopped at my dad's on the way home and told him an itty bit about what is going on and we agreed that I will always keep thinking and working towards whatever is a better life for me. I wasn't really going to turn to AL, even in my deepest despair but for a second I could see why relapses happen and I think I have a bit more empathy now. One other thing happened today that kind of made me think the Universe really is looking out for me. My nephew called out of the blue saying that if I needed any yard work done, he has a week between getting out of school and going to CA. And here I thought he was leaving for CA the day after school ended! So, now I don't feel so pressured to go with an expensive landscaper although I will still keep our appointment tomorrow nite and hear what she has to say. If she can do the heavy cleaning and hauling away, my neph can do the fine tuning and mulch spreading. Win win-I don't spend all my savings and he gets some spending money for his trip. Nice surprise!!
Time to turn in Abbers and I bid you all a sweet nite's sleep.

[papmom3]

Mindful May!

whoops! Sorry Dill! Yes, the control does feel very good. I am committed to keeping that control throughout the month!
I've always wanted a wisteria! So gorgeous and the fragrance! But lilacs will always be my fav!

[Persephone1]

Mindful May!

HI Lovelies!

Quick check in as I do not have internet at the condo in Palm Springs. :upset:

It's weird not having that connection to the outside world. Still sober and it's relatively easy...most of the time. Honestly, I have tinges of craving as a few folks here drink regularly. But, nothing that I need to be worried about.

I am missing you all and sadly don't have time to read back and respond appropriately. I am at Starbuck's for 12 more minutes when they close!

It's beeeeautyful here and I'm feeling really blessed.

Hope you are all happy and healthy. I did see G~man popped in too! HIya G!!!

Will check in again as soon as I can.

:l P.

[Stargazerlily]

Mindful May!

Good morning all...

Pap, you are amazing...working so hard, always developing a new plan if needed. You really helped me with the envelop explanation. We have been spending way too much on food (juicing) and I will decide on food budget, get cash in envelope, and that is that. I too will tell myself I need something, when the reality is that I just want it, it is a waste of money,and I overspend. We'll do this together.

Rusty, inspiring to hear about your aunt making life changing decisions and being wonderful and better, AF. Do you live on a lake or close by? I live a few blocks from a lake and love walking around the neighborhood with a lake view!!! Four pounds in a week gluten free? That is amazing. My husband has been using lots of ginger in our juices, and he reports less pain from his arthritis. I just like the taste!

Lav, you are so helpful with your knowledge about health issues and diet, thanks so much for sharing your information. Nice that you can be outside and enjoy spring.

Dill, love wisteria, our lilacs are not quite there yet. Great you are able to enjoy the outdoors. I miss LBH too. Hope she is doing well. You are so sweet to keep her in our thoughts. I still miss Chill.

We did not get our flooring put in, we were almost scammed, I think, but it looked really cheap, not like the samples the salesman showed. Plus, they did not have the materials to complete the job, a total case of poor service. After cancelling that nightmare, we regrouped and on Sunday, two hours at Lowe's and I think we will be getting Pergo in a few weeks, installed by a carpenter who knows what he is doing. Carpet torn up, but so much better than what could have happened.

My Dad goes to the doctor today for preop procedures, wish I could be there. It brings up the nightmare of my mother's cancer experience, so good thing I have work today to force myself to get my mind somewhere else.

Took some lovely walks this weekend, read a good book, and now it is Monday morning. Darn. Hello to all, have a great day.

[cyntree]

Mindful May!

Good morning, Maysters!

So good to catch up with everyone - sounds like everything is chugging along in a good way. Pap - you are doing so wonderfully well, keep it up. I know of the envelope routine, though I haven't done it myself (and it's hard when there's another person out there spending!), but I sincerely congratulate you - and such good news about your nephew.

Rusty and Lav - in addition to ginger, cayenne is an anti-inflammatory (they make un-hot capsules) and don't forget LBH's turmeric and boswellia combo. Thanks for bringing all this info back into focus - I was in terrible pain yesterday - I think a combo of too much bush-whacking and too much computer time. So, I'll be making ginger tea today! Rusty, so glad that you had good family time.

Tip - yes, beavers love lakes - maybe you'll get to watch them make their watery den! Star - how is everything for you, was the weekend good? Dill - lilacs are just starting to bud here; I'll be looking for verbena to plant, and wisteria - what a thought - what zone are you in? Good luck with these last crazy days of your work...

G-bloke, always such a pleasure when you pop in...I also would like to know what's up with you...do tell!

Going to the estate sale to look for a small side table, we ended up with a dining room set and chairs. All very new-ish and finally (first time in 12 years) a comfortable place to sit at the table. Which means that we are thinking of a tag sale here next weekend - sell the other dining room set that we bought for very little from the previous owners of this house, and try to unload a state-of-the-art spa tub that we'll never use...wish us luck on that one. I want the deck space for a kitchen herb garden and a clothes-line!

Wishing everyone well - I carry you all with me through the day -

[cyntree]

Mindful May!

X-post, Star! Please know we're all thinking of you today, big hugs to you, hang in there. What book are you reading? Take care --

[Lavande]

Mindful May!

Good morning May friends

Nearing 8 am & the sun hasn't made an appearance yet. I think it overslept a little :H

Papmom, you have a good plan there lady

Perse, good to hear from you!
Enjoy that lovely weather & keep your focus, you'll do just fine

Star, I'm sorry you had a bad experience with the flooring this weekend. Great that you stopped the job in time! We put a Pergo floor in an addition on the last house & it looked great - did the job ourselves. I hope your Dad's preop testing goes without problem today. Try to stay in the positive zone, OK?

cyn, wouldn't that spa tub be good for your arthritis? Just a thought although I couldn't see myself using one either. I would definitely get more use out of a nice herb garden

I need to get my achey self to Curves then over to my son's house to watch the kids for a few hours. Then of course back here for some weed pulling fun - yay!

Greetings to everyone else & wishes for a great AF Monday!

Lav

[dill]

Mindful May!

Up early today but have to be out early as well. I have much to do to prepare for the day so I only have time enough to stop in and wish everyone an AF greeting. Star, you're in my thoughts and prayers. I've been thru that process with my husband's parents who I loved dearly. Strength to you and all involved.

Pers, glad you stopped in, Cyn, Rusty, Pmom, Lav, Tip, G, thinking of you all.

[Stargazerlily]

Mindful May!

Good morning to all...

Up early today, really busy at work yesterday, so a little work to do at home. Already completed and now visiting with all of you.

A message from my brother that my Dad's prognosis, right now, looks good. Meaning, no chemo or radiation will be recommended as it does not appear to have metastasized. I slept well knowing that, so thanks for all your positive thoughts and feedback. Scary stuff.

Cyn, how great to have a new (for your) dining room table and chairs. How do you have a herb garden on your deck? Sounds like a cool idea. Is it in pots? Let me know. the ginger tea does sound like a great idea, I too get really sore after a day pulling weeds and dead left overs on new growth. Spring is such a magical time.

Lav, reading a book about breast cancer survivors (for the health info) and it talks about either working towards health or against it, for cancer or against it. Really interesting. Lots of stuff I already know, but with a fresh viewpoint. Overweight, sugar, alcohol, sedantary life style=high risk. These are all things we do have control over. High stress is another factor, so meditation, mindfulness, here we go. Lav, I am excited, next weekend to try those black bean burgers, thanks so much for the link.

Dill, appreciate the thoughts and prayers. Love that you are taking the time to post even in your last busy days at work.

Hello to Pap, Persephone, Rusty, Mr. G., and all.

[cyntree]

Mindful May!

Wow Star, you are up early! So glad to hear that your father's prognosis is good so far...will continue to send good thoughts. The book you are reading sounds interesting - there's one I read years ago, written by an oncology nurse; 'What to eat if you have cancer" - and guess what? All the things that we talk about here...eliminating sugar, all the inflammatory foods, etc.

Lav - the hot tub is huge - 6 person - we never used it last summer, and the winterizing was so difficult that I don't want to deal with it. It's a salt-water version, and just the salt alone is $1,000! No thanks. Plus, I really can't do heat anymore with the rosacea, so....hopefully we can sell it. Star, I've found some bins on rollers that I can use as herb planters - they're kind of retro looking, but I like them. Also, I've seen canvas 'boxes' that can be used as raised beds wherever.

Had a bear visitor night before last - I'll try to post pics of the big wood 'cage' where we keep the garbage - overturned, narrowly missing my car! Found the offending big plastic bin dragged off into the woods. Guess the bears are hungry when they wake up from hibernation! Also saw a fox yesterday, so it was wildlife day around here.

Rain is finally in the forecast, so I'm planting/digging up and replanting today. I'll do my best to be mindful as I work, and am wishing all a beautiful AF spring day.

[Lavande]

Mindful May!

Good morning friends,

Sad this morning to find my Cockatiel on the bottom of his cage. He's been a part of the family since 1985 I will bury him with my dog, they were friends. I don't know how old the bird was when he came to live with us. He sure lived a long life.

Greetings Dill, Star & cyn!

Star, that is good news about your Dad. Melanoma is easily handled when found early.
I just read a report yesterday warning women to be aware of the loads of false advertising re breast cancer. One-a-Day Multivits claims it can help prevent breast cancer, osteoporosis, etc. - Not true!
A healthy lifestyle, as you mentioned is essential.

Cyn, bears??
No such thing around here, thank goodness! Fox & deer yes, no bear!
I hope you can get rid of the spa. We had a pool at our last house & it was a lot of work & $$. I didn't want one here, really glad now that I don't have one.

YB, believe it or not has offered to construct some raised beds for veggies. I hope he actually follows through, I would like to have a few

Gotta go, my daughter & grandaughter are on the way.
Have a great day everyone!

Lav