Ladies on a Mission: The Official Site

[scottish lass]

I have seen Coke used in stews too - and the verjuice can be bought on amazon here. I use a lot of balsamic vinegar which gives some depth.
I have been able to buy the little mini bottles singly and have done that, so no temptation of having it left over!

[Pie]

SL - Where the heck are ya? I'm hoping you'll drag your big ol' one-year over here so I can get a look at it. Never seen one myself... :welldone:

[little beagle]

SL one year? That a big congratulations.
Hubby and I have been talking about relapse. And the two parts of our brains. We've decided the animal brain is the child and the higher, reasoning part is the parent. Kind of simplified but it's helping him understand some of this a little better. Keeping the child in line is the parents job. Not giving in and letting it have everything it wants.
We watched a quick video on relapse and it said that we need to think about relapse and keep in mind how easy it is. To stay connected to our support. Well I'm all the support he has right now. He's just toooooo stuborn.
On day at a time it is then.

[treetops]

I just started a congratulations thread for SL on the general discussion list. Its still Feb 20, her time. But its Feb 21 here!

You hang on in there LB - you have a lot to deal with - supporting your hubby - but make sure you take care of yourself as well - and we are here for you too.

[narilly]

SL, one year? Really? Way to go! Here is a big hug from me, yippee!!

Have a great Friday night everyone. Looking forward to being UnHung tomorrow.

[Pavati]

Hi, TT -
TT - You're early for my neck of the woods, but there's no point in not celebrating across timezones. I will throw a proper party for SL when I'm good and ready here on the left coast of the US. For now we're stuffing the pinata, freezing the ice cream and getting the dance floor dusted. I'll see you all tomorrow - the other side of the date line.

LB - I hope that Mr. B having only you as support is not too much for YOU. I know that he is darn lucky to have you as an ally - thank goodness there's enough of you to share with us. I hope that you are not giving too much and are taking some support, too. I'm glad you could talk about relapse together and start to help him make a plan.

I have never heard of verjuice - just had to check wikipedia. Sounds like it might just work. Or maybe one of those fancy vinegars? Anyway - thanks for the ideas.

This is going to fall into the "are you kidding me, Pav" category, but having just had a week off, I have to say that I get a little unmoored with unstructured time. I didn't set any intentions for this week, so I sort of ended up floating around. I got in a lot of exercise, cleaned out a storage room, and had hang out time with my kids which is all good, but we also sort of watched a lot of TV and just sort of lazed about. I don't mind lazing if that is my intention, but I have other things to do, so I feel sort of guilty about it. I feel sort of blah this week rather than refreshed. I remember talking about this with J-Vo at the start of last summer, and I need to remember to structure my time off better. I don't mind planning for being lazy some of the time, but then I want to devote 100% to that, and not have the inkling that I should be doing something else.

This blah feeling led to more thoughts of alcohol today - not cravings, NS, just thoughts, but they are ANNOYING. I don't want to feel anything but the greatness of being sober, not the woe is me why did this happen. I know in my head I am supposed to just watch those thoughts float by without acknowledging them, but every once in a while they pop me in the noggin. Oh well, just reporting it here to stay honest.

Nar - Sorry about the uncertainty of your job and field of work. I'm glad you could take today off, however. I am sure you spent it well, whatever you did.

Patrice - How DID you end up in Malaysia? How long have you been there?

Off to bed. I have plans for tomorrow, so I should be feeling better!

Pav

[Pavati]

x post. Hi, Nar. Good night!

[jane27]

Congratulations on 1 year SL! Looking forward to sharing many more! Xoxo

[jane27]

Dottie, thinking of you and glad that you are in a safe place. I hope they figure out what it is. A friend of mine takes a beta blocker to help keep a fib episodes in check. It seems to work. Please keep us posted. Xoxo

[Pavati]

Hi, Jane!

Yes, Dot, I just saw that you were in the hospital. AFib runs in my family - my mom has been on blood thinners for years with it, and both of my aunts and at least one cousin have it as well. I figure it is on my horizon soon. Scary, but thankfully they can mitigate the possible damage. I hope you are feeling better.

Pav

[available]

Congrats SL on a year, go girl. Feel proud today you deserve it.

Dot i hope you feel better soon, keep us informed.

I went to see Roxette last night with Kiera and her best friend. What a blast from the past and we had a lovely girls night. What i didnt know was the female singer had a brain tumour and it has taken her years and years to recuperate to be able to sing. She had to sit on a stool as she cannot walk anymore. It made me realise how even when you think your life is shite there is always someone worse off. I just wanted to hug her and tell her how much i admired her determination to sing and live life. Sure she missed a few notes but we had an amazing night. Kieras friend also has a 6 month old baby so i got some nana practise in and i just cant wait. No thoughts to have a drink last night, i did see some pissed women and that bought back memories of what i used to be like so i had a case of being grateful i didnt drink. i have something called morals now lol.

A hot day here, i need a bit of cool please.

[treetops]

Hi Ava - great that you had a wonderful evening and the advantage to being sober is that you can remember it so well. Not like before ay?
Cool over here but not cold. blowing you some of this nice air across the Tasman!

[available]

Tree, i can remember the whole night from start to finish, i think it is my first concert where i have done that.
Thanks for the cool but can you blow a bit harder please.

[patrice]

Hi all,
That's great Ava - much better than being one of those inebriated women.. Yuk, it's not a good look...
Pav- I've been in Malaysia 3 and half years, teaching. .. Timing and circumstances lead me here.. Mmm, I do get sick of it but have decided to leave in 18 months so I'm kind of enjoying it more now, knowing I wont be here forever.!!
All good here , Saturday night sober feels good.. !
Fantastic SL !
Xx
Pat

[NoSugar]

Another personal record and group win :smile:! Congratulations, SL! It helps so much to hang out with people who share our goals - success breeds success and none of us want to let the others down.

Thanks for joining in with us, TT. Like any group, we need a critical mass to keep it going and to allow for the ebb and flow of people's individual lives that make us more active here sometimes than others.

To any lurkers or readers, please feel free to join in! I know I was really reluctant to join threads that seem "established" and to some extent, still feel intimidated in some cases. I know that's weird but we do bring our egos online, after all, and it's hard to take risks sometimes. Anyway, we'd love to hear from others who are on a mission to free themselves from the burden of an addiction once and for all!

I was talking to LC (who is doing well :smile about the concept of "never again". The use of the word 'never' is discouraged in many recovery groups which critics consider a mechanism for keeping a person "sick". My personal opinion is that Rational Recovery's approach, which is to take the option of drinking off the table, embrace "never", and not participate at all in recovery communities is a little extreme. I agree with RR that once you decide you are done, you are, I think we need to acknowledge that we're imperfect humans. It strengthens my commitment and I hope protects me from drinking in a crisis (I think Pav wrote about that in the NN?) that could be a "normal" but imperfect human response if one's guard is down. Participating here keeps my guard UP.

Intrusive thoughts are annoying, Pav. It was a vicious cycle but drinking led me to give up activities and interests which led to boredom which led to more drinking which led to giving up more interests and on and on. So, I've noticed, too, that lack of structure can make me feel bored and then that bad wiring sparks and I think of a drink... Like you, I'm better of with at least an overall structure to my time, especially downtime.

Well, it snowed and I'm going to go xc ski for the first time this year. Have a great AF day! xx, NS