Ladies on a Mission: The Official Site

[narilly]

Way to go Pat! Rockin' the minutes. Hey something is better than nothing for sure.

I have been having a hard time not moving so much. My podiatrist said no long walks for 2 weeks. Holy smokes, that is hard for me. Anyway, sitting here at my computer having lunch instead of going to work out.

Pav, Jane's post was a good one. I really liked what she said.

Things are good here besides everyone being afraid of losing their jobs. Low oil prices really affect us.

Good to be sober though. Actually GREAT to be sober!

[little beagle]

Thanks Pat. I couldn't check out that site. It's down. But today was better. Just talking about it helped. Glad you are getting some exercise.
Narilly sorry about your foot, feet? It would be hard on me not being able to move as much. I'm sorry about you worrying about gas prices, but it's such a relief for us.

[j-vo]

HI Gloamers,
Tough day for me. Well, it started last night. Son has a pretty tough basketball coach. Well, I'll just put it out there...he's a freaking jerk, asshole, bully, and I hate him. I never use the word hate as I feel awful saying that. It's just that I was so angry and have been about his coaching style or lack of a decent style. I won't bore you with details, but I cried a good bit this morning, lost it at work, decided I needed to go home and I did. I could have just stayed and got back to work - to distract myself, but after I was there for a few hours, I saw where I was getting. Nowhere but in my head. I was exhausted from yesterday with work then a being at basketball from 4:30 - 9:30. So the only thing that I could do was take care of myself and I did. I came home and slept. Then I worked on some stuff. It was a choice I might have made while I was drinking too. But the difference is that I probably would have, no, would have stopped and bought wine. One of my coworkers said, just have a glass of wine when you get home. I told her it just made me more emotional when I did that. We know the truth. It just doesn't help anything. It doesn't solve any problems. It just creates bigger problems. Feeling out of sorts still, maybe because of stress, but I'm dealing with a difficult situation, and I don't need to drink over it.

LB, I have seasonal affective disorder on top of all of my other crazy disorders. And I feel your pain. I'm sending you another cyber hug and will put in some prayers for you as well.

Have a good night.

[scottish lass]

Yahoo j-vo, major success, well done for avoiding temptation and well done for realizing it! proud of you dear loamer:yay::victorious:

[peppersnow]

Just feeling so good here - nothing special (as I posted on the Sunday shout outs) but just sober and enjoying it so much - a normal Sunday, getting things done, being productive and truly enjoying it - so thankful to be where I am.
My aim for 2015 is to be more aware - enjoy what I am enjoying and appreciating the feeling without over analyzing it - just taking it with gratitude - real change in mindset for me. So woke feeling happy and rode the feeling for the day. Do have "stuff" going on, but who doesn't, just determined not to let it pull me down, can't do anything about it on a Sunday, so will pop it away for the day, enjoy the day and will be in a much better place to deal with it tomorrow.

I'm with you, SL, and am aiming toward the same thing this year. Gratitude is my goal - not just now and then, but incorporating gratitude into the fabric of my days, and enjoying and living in the moment. Except that I was all over the map trying to find the words for it, so thank you for simplifying that concept!

[peppersnow]

Sorry, I'm a bit late to the party but have just been reading back. Pav, I had plans to talk to my kids over our vacation on New Years. They knew I'd stopped drinking and they are happy about that, but we've never had the conversation about why I stopped. When I opened that door to talk, neither was very interested in pursuing that conversation. I told them that I had developed a dependency on alcohol and was using it to manage stress (a serious understatement) and that alcohol became very bad for me. They both said they were happy I'd stopped drinking, but then they changed the subject pretty casually. I don't think it was weird for them, but it almost seemed kind of inconsequential for them. Which surprised me. I do agree with others about giving kids information they want, but not forcing more onto them than they want to know about, so I didn't push it further. I figure that now that I've put it out there that I'm open to talking, they will ask me if they want to talk more. We are very close and they tell me everything else, so I'm hoping they know this topic isn't out-of-bounds.
(sigh). Onward and upward, right?

[Pavati]

Hi, Gloamers:

Jane - I do love your advice, and I am usually a direct and open Mama, but for some reason I can't with this alcohol thing. I believe it might boil down to the fact that I still feel shame about this whole alcoholism thing. I tell people all the time on this site that they shouldn't feel shame, that alcohol is an addictive substance, that there is nothing "wrong" with them - and it is not BS - I believe and understand what I am saying. But I can't accept that for myself. Each day I am closer, and now if he asked me about it I would face the answer without getting all weird about it, but I feel so wary of bringing it up. I don't want to put him in a position where he feels like he is keeping a secret for me, and I have not been very open with what is going on with me with many people. My husband's dad, whom I see quite regularly, still hasn't noticed that I quit. He offers me drinks every time I see him! I realize that if he did see the window I am also asking him to keep a secret, but I'm going to have to let that sit a while still. I have a feeling that we're approaching the experimental years, so there will be plenty of opportunity for talks about alcohol... I

J-Vo - Sorry for your sadness, but SO HAPPY you didn't drink about it. Yes, drinking would only make it worse. Sorry about your coach - we've had our fair share of those. My kids usually handle it better than I do - I try to help them with strategies to manage the situation and get what they can out of it.

For all you parents out there: I follow a group called Challenge Success on facebook - they post really good articles about parenting, especially in this uber competitive age. Here's an article from the Huffington Post that they shared recently: The Three Most Important Questions to Ask Your Teenager. In case you're not a link clicker they are - 1. Who tell us who we are; 2. Where do we want to go with our lives; and 3. How do we want to get there. That first question about identity is SO important, especially in situations like having a nasty coach.

LB - I get the winter blues sometimes, too. Supposedly getting direct sunlight on your skin and into your eyes (well, ok, don't stare straight into the sun) helps. My friend got one of those lights you put on your desk. I know you don't have a desk, but...

SL and Pepper - glad you've found gratitude. I have many moments each day when I take a moment to enjoy and experience my life - even in the midst of chaos at work. I am grateful right now to be reminded by you both about how gosh-darn-great I feel.

Those El Capitan climbers in Yosemite are my heroes tonight. FFS - what a feat. And I am grateful to them for letting me see all of those amazing pictures that have been taken in one of the prettiest places on Earth.

Ok - enough sunshine and daisies. I hope you all have wonderful nights.

xo
Pav

[Pavati]

AND after posting about my sugar frenzy, I gave myself the strength to say NO today. Not a single piece...

[scottish lass]

So agree about the climbers - I have been following them and it made my day today, little sad as I can't follow them anymore, but what an amazing story..
Still working on my goal, will be a work in progress for a wee while - not so much gratitude just now but acknowledging that things might be just fine as they are and not to make myself look for more - a bit more of acceptance for me....

[narilly]

Hi Gloamers.
Way to go J-Vo, you stayed away from the wine. That sucks your son's coach is such an ass. What can you do, some people are just assholes sometimes.
Glad you came here to post. Tomorrow will be a better day.

Pav, you probably do feel shame about alcoholism. I think that's pretty common with Alkies. Hopefully it will just be a matter of time and those feelings will lessen.

Pepper, that's interesting about your kids. Sometimes it seems like they don't get what a big deal it is to us.

I'm really tired so I will check in tomorrow.

Xo

[narilly]

X post SL
Big hug from me

[scottish lass]

Taking that big hug dear Narilly - and off to my bed I go - what a lovely way to end my day - sweet dreams lovely lady :hug::hug:

[j-vo]

Lunchtime for me. Much better day today, clearer head, not so emotional as yesterday. I didn't even get the proper amount of sleep, but it's amazing how those situations can way us down, make us feel so bad.

What I'm grateful today and that drinking is not option, and there are other ways to get through a shitty time. There are going to be lots of shitty days, moments, but we can get through each one without the drink. I can imagine if I drank yesterday, I'd be feeling depressed and still crappy, worse than yesterday. Well, now I feel better, and I'm grateful.

LC, I liked your post in the NN about your daughter's gratitude. How sweet is that!

Thanks for the link Pav. I"ll check it out. I think what's difficult is that sometimes we, as parents, should not intervene, and teach our kids to speak up for themselves when they can. Son did that yesterday in a converasation with Coach. I'm proud of him.

LB, hope your day is going well.

Stay warm Nar.

[narilly]

SL, you are too kind, I am so glad I have your friendship.

J-Vo, so glad you are feeling better. It is tough going through all those emotions. Hang in there girl.
It has warmed up here a bit and we are hovering around freezing 0C which is awesome!

Big hug Lil B.

I gotta go, very busy at work.
ttyl

[little beagle]

Narilly we weren't much warmer down here today. But the sun is suppose to shine and we might have a pretty weekend.
I'll try not to stare directly into the sun. LOL.
J-vo I'm glad you went home. It's important to take care and step back when we feel stress. Good for you.
I'm so glad tomorrow is Friday. I'm tired and sore. I feel like I'VE climbed a mountain this week.