Ladies on a Mission: The Official Site

[Roadside]

Successful Acronym Decoding!

Narilly sent me to the. Loamers bread under Monthly Abstinence; quite literally we are L.O. A. M. ers! Clever, clever! Feels good when one starts to decipher MWO shorthand! Hey, this shorthand deciphering, I bet this is just as good as Cossacks puzzles as far as keeping 'brain elasticity' or deterring Alzheimer's.

Wait- what is G. L. O. A. M. ers?

[narilly]

Nice Roadside, actually we are called the GLOAMERS now because we have included our amazing guys and ladies on this thread. We are So clever!
Glad to see you here, let's kick AL is the ass this year!

[Pavati]

Hi, Gloamers:

I can see what you mean about LB - I don't like that powerlessness talk either. I don't drink, I don't drink, I don't drink. I actually said those words for the first time over vacation - it made the woman I was with slightly uncomfortable - like I was judging her for her beer (she kept sort of making comments). It felt weird to say it so emphatically even after over a year. My, I have a lot of growing to do...

I can't believe you walk to work in 6in of snow. You would laugh at us here, too, although having lived where it snows one think I can say is that at least in snowy places, houses are properly insulated and everyone has warm coats and boots. I feel like I'm cold all the time here because I don't dress properly...

OK - I am still feeling lagged and will be off to bed now.

xo
Pav

PS - good to see you here, Roadside.

[jane27]

Good Morning Gloamers, today marks 1 whole year. I couldn't have done it without each of your support and the teams spirit. Thanks & wishing you each a great day. I am flying home from Florida after a restful few days of beach combing & shell collecting. Wishing everyone strength.

[DreamThinkDo]

Jane
well done on
a whole year!

[jane27]

Thank you Dreamy! Pretty hard to believe!

[little beagle]

Jane I am so proud of you. ONE WHOLE YEAR!!!! Congratulations. You are awesome. :applouse:

[abcowboy]

Conrats on 1 year Jane!

[narilly]

Jane!!! 1 year! Yahoooo!!!! Way to go, that is quite an accomplishment. Thank you for being here and sharing your sobriety with us.

Another freakin freezing day here today. Pav, you are right, it is almost colder when you are not prepared for it. We are all insulated, heated and covered so we can deal with the cold pretty well. In our city we have skywalks that connect most of the buildings downtown so we don't have to walk outside. That is pretty sweet.

Another Sober Wednesday here and I am feeling great!

[available]

Happy 1st birthday Jane and many more to come. Its a amazing feeling to get to a year and not achieved by many, sadly. Have a great day.

Nar it got to 36 degrees yesterday. Hose me down!

[scottish lass]

Well done Jane - it is amazing the success on this thread - must be something in the water as it sure as heck is not in the wine!!! Celebrate well - ice cream and choc sauce???

[little beagle]

Narilly I want to see those sky walks.

[NoSugar]

Well, Jane, I would say "Mission Accomplished" but it's an ongoing mission that, I'm happy to say, gets easier and more rewarding as time goes on.

(Mission Accomplished is a risky thing to say anyway... osteroops
Congratulations on your full year of AF living!!!

[j-vo]

Congratulations Jane! That's such a great accomplishment. How is your life different today than one year ago? Speech!

LB, I agree with the writing I will not's 100x. Those were effective consequences that we learned from. Now we consequence by saying, " I don't want to hear you say f-u so loud, please, so take this jolly rancher and think about your behavior."

Today was a long day. Not much sleep last night. Arctic air here, too! We already have a two-hour delay because of the wind-chill tonight into tomorrow. Usually we have to go in on time with cold delays, but they included us in the delay! Sleep in!!!!!!!!!

I was talking to a few wise ladies today about putting too much on myself. My expectations are usually too high for myself. I put pressure on myself to be perfect. That's not good. That usually results in lots of frustration, and wanting to self-medicate. I need to reduce the expectations or trying to be perfect. I may need help with this, as I know I need to do it, but not sure how to do it. Right now, I just need to do one thing. I will not drink because alcohol will kill me.

[NoSugar]

It's been awhile since I've gone on and on about Brené Brown but her talks and books were really helpful to me. One thing she wrote is so obvious but I'd missed it: we can't selectively self-medicate. You give up the good emotions when you try to drown the bad.

This book might be particularly helpful for you right now, j-vo: http://www.amazon.com/The-Gifts-Impe.../dp/159285849X

here are a few of my favorite parts:

“Perfectionism is a self destructive and addictive belief system that fuels this primary thought: If I look perfect, and do everything perfectly, I can avoid or minimize the painful feelings of shame, judgment, and blame.”

"Healthy striving is self-focused: "How can I improve?" Perfectionism is other-focused: "What will they think?”

“Authenticity is the daily practice of letting go of who we think we’re supposed to be and embracing who we are. Choosing authenticity means cultivating the courage to be imperfect, to set boundaries, and to allow ourselves to be vulnerable; exercising the compassion that comes from knowing that we are all made of strength and struggle; and nurturing the connection and sense of belonging that can only happen when we believe that we are enough. Authenticity demands Wholehearted living and loving—even when it’s hard, even when we’re wrestling with the shame and fear of not being good enough, and especially when the joy is so intense that we’re afraid to let ourselves feel it. Mindfully practicing authenticity during our most soul-searching struggles is how we invite grace, joy, and gratitude into our lives.”