Ladies on a Mission: The Official Site

[lifechange]

Ladies on a Mission: The Official Site

YAAYYYY on 50 days, Daisy!!!:rays:

[little beagle]

Ladies on a Mission: The Official Site

Happy Canada Day Narilly. Have a great day off.
Congratulations to all of us. We are all doing great.

[patrice]

Ladies on a Mission: The Official Site

Hey all,
Yay Ava,Jane,Daisy, Wag... You girls are rockin with those numbers, they really add up
Xx
Pat

[lifechange]

Ladies on a Mission: The Official Site

So it's been a successful day of staying in the moment, getting some exercise and eating well---damn it's hard work! 20:02 and I'm ready to hit the hay-
Last night I went to bed fairly early as well and around midnight, fireworks that sounded like gunshots went off as Germany won the WC match--I almost jumped out of my pants.

Wishing you all a lovely afternoon/evening--Ava, hope you've had a day of celebration.
See you tomorrow..

[j-vo]

Ladies on a Mission: The Official Site

I think I saw 50 for daisy and 60 wags. Congrats ladies. I'm alcohol free on my Mexican get away and at 92 days. Just a check in. Love u ladies!

[wagmore]

Ladies on a Mission: The Official Site

NoSugar;1677670 wrote:
CONGRATULATIONS, WAGS!

YOU SOUND LIKE YOU KNOW WHAT YOU'RE DOING AND ARE GLAD YOU'RE DOING IT!

Thanks NS and everyone else for your kudos and support - really appreciate it!!!

[wagmore]

Ladies on a Mission: The Official Site

I just posted this in NN but thought I'd add it here too in case it's useful and/or interesting for anyone. It'll also help you get to know me a bit better - what makes me tick so to speak

I'd be curious to hear what other people do that is similar or different - things that help them succeed in their AF journeys.

...

Several people have commented that I seem like I'm doing very well these days. I AM doing well - amazingly well in fact. After reflecting on why that is the case, I'd like to share something that has been helping me tremendously these past few weeks. I recently started paddling with a competitive outrigger canoe team in my city. I've always loved outdoor activities, but this one is new for me. I've also always loved to workout and be fit, but a lot of that fell to the back burner during the height of my drinking days.

I...LOVE...PADDLING! It is one of the biggest factors making it relatively easy for me to stay AF right now. It motivates me (I don't want to drink even the day before practices or races, as my performance would suffer and I'd let myself and my team down). I also take better care of myself (doing other exercise, eating clean, getting good sleep) because I want paddling to be as fun and enjoyable as possible. It rewards me too - I don't drink, and as a result, I'm able to go do this activity that I enjoy and makes me feel alive. It's a very good, hard, full-body workout and my endorphin levels soar each time I go (usually 3x a week). I get social time with fun people and we're doing something that doesn't involve alcohol.

Being on the paddling team also makes me feel reconnected with a happy healthy version of myself I haven't seen in awhile. I have missed that "me" and am glad to have her back!

Do other people have similar things that serve as both motivators and rewards? Things that they love to do so much that not drinking is a small price to pay for the joy of what you get to do instead? I'm amazed at how much this is helping me, and I'm grateful that I found it.

...

Ok, I need to read back now and catch up with everyone. Hope you all are having a great MOE.

[little beagle]

Ladies on a Mission: The Official Site

Wags I think that's a wonderful motivator. The exercise gives a narural high too. Good for you.
one of my motivators is my little cleaning business. Even during my drinking days I wouldn't drink the night before working because of the lack of energy and the possibl that my clients might smell alcohol on me. That's death to your business. Also I wanted to be that person everyone thought I was. Drinking just didn't fit that image I was trying to portray. Not that it made me a bad person, but these southern ladies are very strict about alcohol consumption.

[Pavati]

Ladies on a Mission: The Official Site

Hi, Everyone:

Way to go, Wags, on your 60 days! I love having you here - you're inspirational.

Ava! Ava! Ava! 7 down, 5 to go for 1 full year sober. You are an amazing person, Lunatic Linda. Thanks for all you do around here, and thanks for keeping me on the straight and narrow path.

LB - the southern ladies you clean for probably judge about alcohol while taking a nip of their wine over cards, right? It must be stressful to be in business for yourself.

This place is a bit slow - I'm taking it to mean that J-Vo is at the pool, Nar is singing happy birthday to her country, NS is eating some fat, and Jane is meditating in her quiet bedroom, and everyone else is at the beach, right??

Hope all you ladies are having a fabulous Tuesday.

xo
Pav

[lifechange]

Ladies on a Mission: The Official Site

Good morning, Ladies! Good morning, Lifechange!:H

Jane, that's such a bummer losing a post. I never seem to have the motivation to type it all out again. I will just imagine what you might have said!! The moodtracker is a great idea. I find my worst times to be the week before my period, typical pms time, but I usually fall into such a depression that I can't cope with life. I also seem to forget every month what it could be due to. .

Hi Pav! LB! J-vo!! Where is everyone..ah, missed that, Pav.

Wag, the paddling sounds wonderful. I can't remember where you live.? Must be a big lake nearby? Had you paddled before or how did you get into it? I love exercising but I haven't found one that I am so passionate about so as not to drink. I do find it helps me tremendously to get some exercise each and every day--if I go for a run, the desire to drink disappears. But I can't always get up the motivation to do the sport. Great question though--I want to find something I am so passionate about.

Daisy, Congrats on 50 yesterday!!

So I am off to work today. Staying in the present. Gym directly after. Then I'll check in here again to see how you're all doing.!

[little beagle]

Ladies on a Mission: The Official Site

LC good job staying in the present. I need to concentrate on that. I tend to mentally wander off into dark, depressing scenarios. But I've been working on that. Like you.
Pav honestly most of my ladies are pretty upstanding. One in particular has adopted me. And she sets a wonderful example. I would hate to let her down. She has been very supportive of my struggle. I haven't given her ALL the details, just the bare factsband she is wonderful. One of my gratitudes.
Have a good day.

[wagmore]

Ladies on a Mission: The Official Site

LB - Running your own business and holding yourself to a high standard sounds like an excellent motivator! How long have you been working for yourself? I'm self-employed as well, and the threat of losing everything I'd worked so hard to build was a big reason I decided to quit drinking.

LC - I live in the Seattle, WA area. Plenty of water around here! That's great that running makes you not want to drink. It would be awesome if you found something you felt so passionately about that it motivated you and rewarded you simultaneously. I never expected such a thing from paddling with the team. I have worked out regularly most of my life, but during my drinking days I would sometimes have a drink before and/or after my workout! Seriously stupid - so glad I'm not in that place anymore!

[Ginger999]

Ladies on a Mission: The Official Site

Wag, We are neighbors! Well at least live in the same state. I'm on the eastside of the Cascades. Do you hike?

Good morning, ladies.... Just lurking this morning Hope you are all well and enjoying the day.

[NoSugar]

Ladies on a Mission: The Official Site

lifechange;1677766 wrote: I am going to take the time today to write a journal of the past 6 months--or more like a timeline to see the reality of what I've been doing to myself and how it's affected my life and the lives of the people I love. Even the people I don't love. To be honest, it's something I've wanted to do for a long time, but haven't because 1. it's hard work, 2. I haven't wanted to completely face the reality. I will also write out some of the worst binges in great detail. So, LC, did you have a chance to write this? I think you'll be so glad you did. I didn't have a single major event to finally push me to doing something about my problem. I used to almost envy people like Pav with her "Thanksgiving Massacre". But of course I know it actually is much better to quit before the inevitable Final Straw forces the issue. I kept asking myself what tragedy I was waiting for and why but it didn't really get me unstuck.

I didn't document how I felt but I do remember that my life had ceased to have much meaning with my major goals being to do my job and arrange my life so I could drink wine each day. What a pathetic way to live that was. Like Frankel writes in Man's Search for Meaning, we've got to be living for something bigger than ourselves and I really wasn't. I wasn't even living -- just existing in the abyss.

I think it's 3 years ago this month that I first signed on here. It's really time to give myself a fair chance..Yes, I think it is, too :l. Give yourself all the tools you need to get it done this time. Think about how you'd prepare the environment if one of your daughters had a huge task to accomplish. And think about how you would talk to her as she struggled. That is how you need to treat yourself.

wagmore;1678031 wrote: Do other people have similar things that serve as both motivators and rewards? Things that they love to do so much that not drinking is a small price to pay for the joy of what you get to do instead? I'm amazed at how much this is helping me, and I'm grateful that I found it.

I think you did find something "bigger than yourself", Wags! You are contributing to a greater good and having fun in the process. It is a great tool for these early days. As time goes on, I hope you find other people or interests that fire you up in the same way so that the seasonal break in your sport or an injury that takes you out of commission for awhile doesn't affect you too much.

I didn't have one passion but rekindling all of my interests has meant so much to me. I continued going through the motions of things like exercise but my heart wasn't in it so I didn't get any of the mental and emotional benefits. I enjoy several creative hobbies and had let those drift and just poked around with them occasionally - I'd lost the drive to learn new techniques and really create new and interesting pieces, something which always had been very rewarding. I'm also a "learning junkie" - finding a topic of interest and digging into everything I can find. That also had been lost. Regaining my full self has been more than worth the price of giving up alcohol. And right now I'm learning all about using fasting to essentially reverse diabetes .

Pavati;1678052 wrote:
This place is a bit slow - I'm taking it to mean that J-Vo is at the pool, Nar is singing happy birthday to her country, NS is eating some fat, and Jane is meditating in her quiet bedroom, and everyone else is at the beach, right??

Yeah, I eat fat but right now I'm feasting on tons of vegetables with brussels sprouts and asparagus being the current faves .

It's not a good time for this place to be slow, at least for those of us in the US. For whatever reason, Independence Day is a big one for drinking. I sure hope people come here and post instead but that is a lot easier if you're already in the habit of posting.

Hope all Loamers and Lurkers are having a great day. :h NS

[wagmore]

Ladies on a Mission: The Official Site

NoSugar;1678157 wrote:
I think you did find something "bigger than yourself", Wags! You are contributing to a greater good and having fun in the process. It is a great tool for these early days. As time goes on, I hope you find other people or interests that fire you up in the same way so that the seasonal break in your sport or an injury that takes you out of commission for awhile doesn't affect you too much.

I didn't have one passion but rekindling all of my interests has meant so much to me. I continued going through the motions of things like exercise but my heart wasn't in it so I didn't get any of the mental and emotional benefits. I enjoy several creative hobbies and had let those drift and just poked around with them occasionally - I'd lost the drive to learn new techniques and really create new and interesting pieces, something which always had been very rewarding. I'm also a "learning junkie" - finding a topic of interest and digging into everything I can find. That also had been lost. Regaining my full self has been more than worth the price of giving up alcohol. And right now I'm learning all about using fasting to essentially reverse diabetes .

NS - The possibility of injury is actually the thing that scares me the most as far as triggering a relapse. It has happened in the past. For some reason, I seem to have two modes: On and Off. When I'm living a healthy lifestyle, I do it full out. When I'm not, things go to crap. I have been thinking over the past few days that I need to brace myself for the possibility of an injury, and plan in advance how I'll keep all of my momentum (not just staying AF, but all of the other positives) if that happens.

I hope people post a lot here too over the coming days, as the U.S. Independence Day weekend with all the associated parties and celebrations are a challenge for many and we need to stick together.