sat 22 June af daily

[bear73]

morning all- up early due to snoring(not mine) at half seven!Put a load of washing on, off to get cat food from vets and to supermarket, then may do half an hour at the gym.

PQ - I hope your dad is ok - weather is so much more extreme than it used to be

SF - I am thinking of starting yoga - I used to do astanga but am thinking that maybe I should try different types.

Mick - hope your back is ok as well

To anyone I have missed - I've got some coffee on but it's half caff!

I was meant to be playing in rollerderby game today but knee still not right so I am line up managing instead - every jam is a maximum of 2 minutes and players can get sent to penalty bin as well.Ultimate in multi tasking!! I was meant to be staying over at a team mate's house after the game - but it will be a boozy do so I have cancelled - and been honest with her why. She couldn't have been more lovely.

That's my whole day and evening gone to be honest - tomorrow I will go to practice for the first time in ages and just get used to being back on skates.

I am trying my best to just focus on today. I'm glad I saw doc about anxiety - I cried I hadn't realised how tangled up I felt - she couldn't have been nicer. She said I am doing right things - breathing, cutting down on caffeine and cutting out alcohol. I said I feel better AF but it feels like I am putting pressure on myself and I feel awkward socially and feel pressure to drink (the BS voice - and she called me out on it which is what I wanted).

She said if you feel better with no alcohol you have answered your own question about what you should do,alcohol changes your mood and feelings. If you feel better without it - don't drink. Plus there was the feeling of always wanting more, feeling out of control with it,previous injuries, too many awful hangovers which we didn't even touch on. It feels good to have made a decision finally - and a little overwhelming.Must remember today!Have a great day everyone.

[Mick]

sat 22 June af daily

mae everybody..how are you?well tis weekend time again,so what are we up to? well just to cheer you up after yesterday..........there are only 186 sleeps till Christmas!!!see thats brightened your day up!!Well the only one who made any mention of yesterdays pics was Lav, so dont know what people thought

Right t n cawfee on the go now

Morning Lav...and how are you today?here you are ...sad confession time...when I was away I recorded 2 episodes of that programme "Breaking Amish" yep and I watched them last night!! series is nearly finished..he has just proposed to Rebecca and just found out she was married before...its a pile o crap...but I find it interesting for some strange reason!!sad man!any plans for today?its raining here,so not a lot I can do in the garden ..there isnt a lot I can do now anyway..got some red spring onions the other day, so I am going to plant them up...never seen them before..going to have a cuppa ..fancy one?

Mornig SF ...nice to see you on the post again ..how are you doing ? seems like you are getting on pretty good..think the gym I go to only does pilates ,need to travel to do yoga.its strange ,went swimming yesterday and did 70 lengths, and afterwards it was fine and yet if I sit down for any time or what I would call basic movement it aches!!
As for the vineyard caper ..dont be put under pressure...you worked hard to get to where you are,and if you dont feel comfortable, dont go end of..develop some 24 hr bug whatever for then..I felt the same first time I went on holiday....didnt want to go,"just in case"but then I thought...does this mean that you are never going on holiday again ? sod that I will prove that I dont need it ...and did.whatever you decide..do it for you

Hiya ppqp how are you?hope you and yours are safe and sound.Just been reading about the evacuation ,75000 folk because of the Bow river ..nice warm cuppa for you.

Hiya june ...and how are you today? ok? no I dont do regular stretching , but do do (bad English!) now and again..knees to chest side rolls one called superman, but will certainly look at others too now ..thanks.glad you are doing so well...and no you have lost an acquaintance..and gained a whole host of friends and a new world.

Morning Cinders,how are you today?did you get to your meeting ok?Did you go and see your mum?did things go ok ? hope so ..Any plans for the weekend?have a good one

Evening TT and hows you today?back into routine yet?winter solstice...too cold ? its not so long ago you were over here and the sun wasnt exactly burning everything to a crisp!As far as the partner working thingy goes...staying out of that one...all I will say is I am 56..(well still for another couple of weeks!) but have always done a bit in the house..now I am retired and Julie works, I do most of the house work too, except the washing ...Im banned from touching that ..it all goes dead small when I do it!!I think its only fair..and yes I still open the doors for ladies etc!!

Welcome back bear ..and how are you doing? Glad to hear you are refocused and on day 7 now ..only you can do it ..we can help...bit of a bummer really when you hear that the curtains might close early for you if you dont stop drinking:thanks:..certainly retrains the thought process..so lets do it.Any plans for weekend..just seen your post...you beat me to it!!!!you have answered your own questions ...you dont need booze ..f..ck the little voice off, your life is worth more than that

right peeps thats me offski ..Sunday tomorrow so wont be here early doors..have a great weekend

watch the wheel turning...



and the bike....



this looks like a face in a Venetian mask ...but can you see the 2 faces ..man and woman in it?




this one is called loving...but can you see the dolphins?



and finally ...thought this was great !!!!!

[RunningCourage]

sat 22 June af daily

:H:H Love that last one Michael!

[Cinders]

sat 22 June af daily

MAE friends,

Bear, good to see you back. It sounds like you really should quit drinking so you can get yourself in a good space in life.

Mick, The pictures are fun. Thanks! For a good giggle, have you gone to the Undies thread and looked at the prancersize videos? Not good for you back, though.

PPQP, Check in, please. Hope you are safe. :l

TT, Well, I guess "old fashioned" ideas are a good job if you can get it. Hubby used to have that attitude until I started traveling. Somehow it didn't work to blame the state of the house on me when I was only home two days a week. :H

He also had to take on managing the household finances, and actually does a better job of it than I did except that he still spends too much money on frivolous things, however, we have no debt except the recent medical bills causing some, and I can't complain about that.

My only complaint these days is that he expects too much of me physically on the outside work. He cuts a tree down and up and I have to move it to the pile. That sort of thing. His back is worse than mine and I think he is trying to make mine catch up with his.

Lav, I hope you got a bit of down time yesterday. I have a 2,4 and 11 year old today and tonight. I love them but they do tire me out. Not to mention the house needs completely redone after they are gone.

June, We are glad to have you here. This crew keeps me on an even keel, too. It is good to share with others who have found that alcohol is nothing but a poison that has no good place in our lives and has only negative effects on us.

SF, Wits, Det, Blondie, Y@H and all others, hi!!

Saw mom yesterday, we had lunch, we had her nails done and her hair cut. She looked cute as a button with her new 'do. It was a bad day at first, lots of anger and paranoia but it got better. By the time I dropped her back off at the home, she was calmer.

My AA meeting went well. It was a small group of about 8 of us women. We discussed how fear can overwhelm us and we must learn to deal with it. A good discussion.

I guess today will be three minutes shorter than yesterday here in the north and three minutes longer today for those below the equator.

Have a good one, all, no matter how much time you have.

Love,
Cindi

[YoungAtHeart]

sat 22 June af daily

MAE all, lovely to see you bright and early!

I'm glad to see you back, bear. Yeah, it seems like a charming world out there, but not so much really, huh? I'm glad that your doc is such a help in convincing you of what you already know.

Hello Mick! Stellar as usual, my man! I couldn't find the dolphins, though. What do you think of Breaking Amish? I have another friend who is addicted to it, but I have never watched it.

I am thinking of PPQP too and all the rain they are getting. I hope everything with her dad is okay and that the rain stops soon.

Cinders, glad your meeting went okay, as well as your visit with your mom. You are very perceptive about your hubby, I think. I am glad you have a sense of humor about his motivations and the ups and downs of marriage.

I went to a professional event last night and saw a few people I haven't seen for 15 years. It was very nice. People brought maybe 20 bottles of wine, and there were about 60 people there. At the end of the night, only 5 bottles of wine were even opened. Now those are some normal drinkers folks! I had a momentary temptation, and I took about 5 seconds to think through the drink, then that was done, and I enjoyed myself thoroughly.

Anyway, this is moving weekend, so I'll be pretty busy. I have to wait another week for my futon mattress, but I try to post some pictures after that.

Hugs to TT, Lav, PPQP, SF, LTLW, 3June, and all yet to come!

:l
YahYah

[porqoui]

sat 22 June af daily

MAE ALL...

Quick check in as I'm on my phone. Just wanted to let you know that everyone is safe and sound here.

Will check in again once I'm back at my laptop.....PPQP

[3June2013]

sat 22 June af daily

Morning y'all
I'm on the road today so just a quick hello. Looking forward to my first social gathering AF. I am not scared. I do know I will be a little awkward socially but that's going to take time. I have no fear that I will be AF this weekend thanks to all the support and advice and sharing everyone here has provided. Thanks so much!

[Lavande]

sat 22 June af daily

Morning Abbers

Moving like molasses here after a couple of exhausting days but I'm alive & that's what counts :H

Bear, I am really happy to see you back. Take it one day at a time ~ really helped me get started

Mick, love your pics, thanks!
The weather is supposed to be warm & dry this weekend so I will get outside once I clean up the mess in my house. It's incredible what those two little boys leave behind - yuck!

Hi RC, Cindi, YahYah! Glad you are all doing well.
PQ, very happy to hear you are OK! I saw pictures of the flooding - geez!

June, have a great AF weekend! Glad you are with us!

OK, time to get some cleanup going around here.

Lav

[Determinator]

sat 22 June af daily

hidy (wheeze) ho! ABeroooos!

did a gruelling hike today with the boys. 80+ lb pack and I'm feeling it now. owie. but I'd rather be sore than hungover any time.

Bear, thanks for the kickstart and the news you're doing well

shouts and garlicky hugs to Lav, Cindi, PQ, 3June, YAH, RC and anyone who may happen to end up in this loverly neighborhood.

I'm really not looking forward to next week: 6 straight days on the road. uck.

be well everyone

[TheSunFlower]

sat 22 June af daily

TT....I am thinking if hubby is Old Fashioned...he should allow you to stay home to get all that done. Hubby and I have an issue we are resolving. He has been for the most part a stay at home Dad for the last 13 years. He like many who have been out of the workforce for this length of time is having trouble finding a decent job, but he makes lots of excuses for not working. I recently lit a fire under his ass

Bear glad to see you back! Ashtanga I could never stick with....I should try it out again. There are so many types of yoga, I like mixing it up. I recently went to a power Christian
based class and loved it! It's just not at a time I can regularly attend. She is in recovery for an eating disorder. She played these rocking tunes about being broken and healed. And cracked me up when she said, "how many Eve's do we have in the room? How many took that bite of temptation and continued to eat every apple on the tree?" I know I ate the whole orchard and then some.

Mick....weird on the swimming. I have never swam that many laps...but I find my nightly dips in the pool so refreshing and relaxing.

I have made more of a commitment to attending Celebrate Recovery. I am enjoying it and the people. One of my friends who goes to AA gave me the whole....I am doomed unless I go back to AA. I hate it when people are like that. Oh well.

As for the vineyard event I am going to skip it. Something inside of me is not comfortable with it. Listening to my gut

[YoungAtHeart]

sat 22 June af daily

Good for you, SunFlower! Listening to your gut is the best way. Sorry that your AA friend is totally wrong. It is right for some people but not for everyone. There are many ways to stay sober. Whatever your program is, you've gotta work it, girl!

[Lavande]

sat 22 June af daily

Why do people (AA or not) project so much negativity? It just sucks
SunFlower, do whatever YOU think is right
Skipping that vineyard event probably is the best choice ~ for all of us!

YahYah, how's the moving going?
Wish I lived a few hundred miles closer, I'd help you out!

I think I may go back & do more cherry picking tomorrow - they're darn good!!!

Det, sorry you have to be on the road so much next week. Be sure to check in with us

[TheSunFlower]

sat 22 June af daily

Yah and Lav thanks. I think she means well....but she has that strong AA mentality. I was in AA long enough to know that you should say, "this is what worked for me". And the Big Book clearly states they do not have the cornerstone on sobriety. She actually said I was just too stubborn when it came to AA. No, I am pretty clear that AA does not work for me. I can't tell you how many times I got drunk after a meeting....and because the mentality was being pushed on me that I was doomed....it took me to my darkest days.

That said....there are still a couple of meetings I do like....and pop into from time to time.

With Celebrate I feel uplifted, love and acceptance. The silly part is that it based around the 12 Steps....it is just presented differently. The leaders are trained.

I just have to avoid people like that. Too many people at times walk with blinders on that their is only one way.

I love seeing all the options discussed here. Not everything works for everyone, but I always get good advice here:thanks:

[treetops]

sat 22 June af daily

As I said before on this thread my experience of AA and another support group was counter productive to me - or at least it was productive in that it made me determined to find a way so that I could avoid such groups at all costs.
The support group really made me annoyed - the counsellors IMO tried to put words in our mouths and did things according to their pre-set stereotypes. What really f__ked me off was that they insinuated that I should toss in my job - or at least change jobs --- just because that was what they seemed to recommend as an answer to stress. This is a job that is my profession, which I really love (OK some bits I dont but thats normal for everyone), is creative , allows me to help/facilitate others and pays well.
They also 'smiled' with that concerned look while they dished out their very leading questions.

I had much better feedback from my GP plus her concerned look was alarmingly convincing!

[bear73]

sat 22 June af daily

I am using bits of AA and bits of SMART as it's positive and a bit CBT based which I like and use to work on my anxiety.
I think whatever works - there does seem to be a circular argument with some(though by no means all) AAers where you say ' it's not for me' to which you get the response 'aaah -- that's because you're in denial'.
Many ways to achieve sobriety, and I am in NO way there yet - but there are so many ways to treat depression - and in the same way different approaches to addiction.
Do what works for you SF.