Ladies on a Mission: The Official Site

[NoSugar]

You should be able to keep us with us now, SL :wink:, and it will be great to hear from you! Congratulations on setting and achieving the 5k goal and for getting past the tense time without taking the easy way out. We all know that that is not an easy thing to do.

LB, I'm so sorry for you and your husband that his dad is ill. I hope you're able to get him to a place where he's comfortable and getting whatever help he needs :hug:.

Pav, I have the 6 episodes of Serial downloaded - now the trick is to find a chunk of time to start listening! It's crazy how podcasts have become like books - there are so many great ones, it's a little overwhelming to choose so thanks for the recommendation.

Jane, it is wonderful that you are feeling better! And congratulations on 300+ days of AF liviing!!

This line puzzled me at first: "I need you guys to stay sober.". I thought you were saying that we needed to stay sober and I totally agreed with you but I was wondering how that idea came about. Then I realized that you meant you need to be part of the group to stay sober yourself. Maybe it really works both ways because it is much easier to stay sober when you're involved with people doing the same thing. So, let's all of us do that!!

[daisy45]

So glad to see this thread moving again. LB, sorry to hear your news.....just like we do here, take it one day at a time. An illness in the family can be overwhelming.
SL, Pav, Jane, NoSugar, hi.
NoSugar, sorry to hear you were feeling low....I don't think of you in that way...I have you on a pedestal of super-strong. And the fact that you can feel so bad and still keep your resolve shows just that.
I am in bed upstairs with my daughter tonight. Mice have driven me out of my bedroom. 3 in 3 days and evidence of another 3 in downstairs rooms. Traps set and doors sealed again.
I have been cleaning all day....filling holes, anything I can think of...
Positive thinking....up tomorrow and there will be 3 mice in their traps!
Need some sleep....

[scottish lass]

Pav - 2miles is great - I started a whole heck of a lot slower than that - there is a program called couch to 5K which I used and it worked for me.
Long day - long drive, long sit listening to people talk and then long drive back home - what a waste of a day!
Psychic wishes for three mice in traps!
Hi Jane and LB - nice to see the same team here. Hi to everyone else - back to running around sorting kids out - see you later.

[little beagle]

Thanks for the support everyone.
Jane you made my evening. I'm laughing over your "mild obsession with the basement". Not sure you intended it funny, but I thought it was.
Pav 2 miles sounds like 1.5 more the I could go.
Yes we are having a difficult time. But coming here and hearing I'm not alone makes this easier.

[narilly]

Lil B, sorry about your pa pa. That is tough. Big hug from me.

Pav, thanks for the podcast suggestion- I will check it out.
Looks at you and SL, gettin all in shape. You two are rockin'

For sure, NS, just like Jane said, we have to stay sober, And we will, right!

Goodnight Gloamers. Kick those mice out Daisy!

[Pavati]

Whoot! Happy to see you all here.

Jane - stick close because you need us, and because WE need you. Glad you're feeling a bit better, even if it is slow going.

I listened to a Bubble Hour today - it has been a while. I was thinking that I need a bit of a tune up I guess. I told my counselor that I am ready to be done working with her. It is a big step as she is the reason I am sober now. Well, I am the reason, but she helped. I am not actually thinking I'll drink, but I'm afraid that I won't see a relapse coming. After reading all of the relapse stories here, I am definitely afraid. I have to keep it healthy fear, and not obsessive. I really think I can do it, and I will be happy to have the money back, but it is a big step.

'Night.

Pav

[jane27]

Love my Gloamer family. Group hug to y'all. Xo

[daisy45]

Jane, I missed your big 300.....well done you!
Glad to see some action here! I have no idea about podcasts and how to get them. I have an i-pad....is that any good? Need all the help I can get!
Heading out for more traps...bigger and better ones! None caught today but one cheeky git ate my bait and the trap did not go off! The joys!
Laters......

[little beagle]

Daisy I loathe mice and rats. We get them in the fall. I'm sorry to say I put out poison this year. They ate through every barrier hubby put up last year and destroyed a lot of food. Yuck!!
Hubby is heading for New Mexico tomorrow or Saturday. PaPa has cancer all through him. His kidneys have failed and his liver is failing. A very sad time. I am so glad that neither of us drink. That only makes it feel worse.
Pav one of the ways I stay sober is a very healthy fear of relapse. I don't obsess, but i Do remember where I was at when I quit. I know I never want to be there again and honestly me taking that one drink might do just that, so life is just so much less complicated. Don't take that one drink.

[jane27]

Lil, I'm thinking of you and the Mister. The timing of all of this is so ironic. ILY

Daisy, 1) MICE AND RATS? 2) Would you believe I missed my big 300 too? I got so used to relying on Frances for my day count (we are 50 days apart), when I didn't see her day count, I got lost and kept coming up with different numbers. Not unusual for me. I've heard math wizards wax poetic about loving math for its logic and the ability to determine knowns. In my neck of the woods its more like magic- its a trick...sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. I even started to doubt my quit date. Its all squared away now. January 7- lucky number 7.

I am amazed by how much better I feel since I got the mold treated and the air ducts cleaned. Until I had the mold inspection I never knew it was there because it didn't smell and was behind the dropped ceiling in the basement, which thankfully was just sitting on a frame so easy to get behind. Who knew mold could be while & odorless. Literally men in white suits with masks came and sprayed all affected areas of the basement. At the same time a vacuum was hooked up and piped out through a window to ensure that (too small to see) mold spores "falling off the ceiling" would go out the window.





Our basement did flood twice last year, but this problem existed long before we bought the house 7 years ago. When I dug up the inspection report it hinted/suggested of the problem but the inspector we used was referred to us by the realtor (a family friend), and the verbiage throughout is creatively composed to avoid making it seem like there are any big problems.

After cutting that fat check came the duct cleaning. Despite our best efforts thoroughly cleaning up after the floods we had (down to ripping out the walls), we didn't consider the insulation inside of the HVAC unit. It was from here that the mold inspector took a sample to test, and sure enough it was through the roof. Not surprising considering there was 6 inches of water in the basement. Based on that, we opted to go ahead with the also very expensive duct cleaning.

[jane27]

All of this has been quite a learning experience. There is duct cleaning, and then there is DUCT cleaning. The lower case folks charge a lot less and basically vacuum out your ducts where they can reach just like you could. The upper case folks are a whole different enchilada, and the enchilda involves a truck and whips. I don t have pictures of the whips, but here's the truck.



The whips come into play for areas of duct they cannot easily reach with the hose of the vacuum that is connected to the truck. For those areas they insert/snake long rubber whips that flagellate much like those long spongy rags used at car washes. Unseemly description I realize, but I cant do any better. This step we did purely because of the insulation sample that was taken from inside the chamber of the HVAC system that tested astronomically high for mold (not black mold, but still). The actual cleaning of the ducts just appealed and at this point, why not.

[jane27]

I need to interject at this point- the interview and selection process for all of these service people has been grueling. Everyone knows the water proofing and mold remediation industries are laden with bullshitting crooks. Understand I went into this thing with an invisible helmet on and played roles ranging from interrogator and attorney to cookie baking June Cleaver. Because life is all about relationships, right?

I was particularly bitchy about and to the duct guy when he called me at 830 am to let me know he was coming then didn't answer his phone when I called him right back, and upon hearing an auto message indicating that the cell phone user hadn't yet set up voice mail, promptly called the company to make sure he hadn't been hired 2 days ago, which they confirmed albeit nervously. Naturally I felt obligated to spring the same question on the guy himself when he showed up 5 minutes later. In a nutshell, we started off on rough ground.

I followed him down to the basement trying to win him back over & to see how the whole deal works. He cut open the duct so he could fit in the vacuum and heres what he found:



Did your lungs just shrink (because mine did). When I asked him where in the spectrum of bad the situation fell, he said 'put it this way, they're going to want to use these photos on the website." Here we have before:





And here we have after



The story doesn't end here, but I'll save the rest for another post. I've really outdone myself Gazette wise. All of this is tongue in cheek- as usual I look for the humor to get through. Cancer & loss of a loved one are things to really cry over and bitch about- not this little stuff. AND, I'm feeling better.

Wishing everyone a great Thursday.

[NoSugar]

Jane, those photos are amazing! I had no idea that is what black mold looks like! If you're sensitive to it, no wonder you were having problems. I hope your health continues to improve now that you're in a much less toxic environment!

I listened to a Bubble Hour today - it has been a while. I was thinking that I need a bit of a tune up I guess. I told my counselor that I am ready to be done working with her. It is a big step as she is the reason I am sober now. Well, I am the reason, but she helped. I am not actually thinking I'll drink, but I'm afraid that I won't see a relapse coming. After reading all of the relapse stories here, I am definitely afraid. I have to keep it healthy fear, and not obsessive. I really think I can do it, and I will be happy to have the money back, but it is a big step.

That is a big step forward, Pav. Its great that you feel strong enough to take it. If you keep posting your thoughts, I think you will recognize if a relapse is looming. As you read the boards, don't you often see it coming for individuals? I think we know one another here well enough that others would see the signs even if the person didn't, and I hope would speak up. At least I sure hope you guys would if I was sounding anything less than determined to stay AF! Sometimes (believe it or not :wink, I don't speak up to a person who I don't know well when I see the "warning signs" and then when they do choose to drink, sort of wish that I had. But sometimes, especially if you don't know someone very well at all, it feels very forward and inappropriate to butt in and sometimes, very hard to even know what to say.

NoSugar, sorry to hear you were feeling low....I don't think of you in that way...

Everyone feels down sometimes. I probably post more (and more passionately) when I'm down than when I'm up. For me, writing about the reasons for quitting, things that worked for me, etc. really help keep it all fresh in my mind and keep me focused on what is needed.

We're all thinking of your whole famiily, LB, and wishing you strength. I'm so glad you and your husband are both sober and can be supporting one another during this difficult time. xx, NS

[jane27]

NS, There wasn't any black mold (just to clarify). The mold was white in color. The other crap was dust + dander + GodKnowsWhatElse that accumulated inside of the air ducts over the years.

Have I told you lately that I love your posts? The longer the better! xoxo

Pav, I sent you an email on the therapist issue. I have been down that road...

[available]

LB thinking of you and hubs, it is a very sad and stressful occasion. I know my stress levels are through the roof worrying about mum and Robert. Hopefully Roberts op is in 2 weeks and then the road to recovery or being in less pain begins. Mum has a biopsy next week and then results on the 20th. I do no if it is cancer there will be some huge upheavals in all of our lives but i will cross that bridge when i come to it.

oh im going through menopause and i want to kill people. only stab them through the eyeball and i think that would be fun! its like permanent PMS. off to the drs i go! good thing is i dont want to drink as otherwise i probably would kill people.

hugs to all will try and post this weekend. xxxxx